The New Dawn of the Red Planet
by SpaceFlora
Summary: The bros are finally home on Mars where they soon realize how much things have changed during their time on Earth. The Mars is rebuilding itself but it's not necessarily to the good direction. I do not own the Biker Mice from Mars only the storyline and the characters I've invented.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_Okay, first things first... This is my first fan fiction here, although I've been writing them many years now. Secondly, English is not my first language so be kind, you folks! Third thing is obvious, I do not own the Biker Mice from Mars, unfortunatly. I didn't come up with this idea of three motorcycling mice from outer space which is a shame but true. I did come up with this particular story how ever and all the original fictional characters in it. Oh, and I tend to write lengthy stories that never end, I hope I can manage to put out a story that will come into some conclucion in some point. This story is based on the events that occur after the mice have left the planet Earth. I don't really use any references to the 2006 series since I only watched it once and can't remember things... (The original old series I've been watching over and over and over and over...) So, enjoy reading and please review and leave a comment after you've done that! Love to hear what you think of it._

 _-SpaceFlora_

 _p.s. slight revision done_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Prologue**

It looked so tiny. Earth, from this angle. Blue, green and covered with clouds. Slowly, it got more and more distant. Soon it looked like it was a colourful bouncyball just floating in the darkness. Modo felt a tiny ache in his chest while watching the third planet from the Sun from the small window of a Martian Spacecraft. He leaned on the wall made out of thick Martian steel. He could hear Throttle and Carbine talking in the distance. They were changing brief remarks about the spacecraft's meters that were showing speed, pressure, altitude, distance and other factors. Modo wasn't that interested in the conversation and just looked at the planet now only the size of a coin.

He then changed his posture and looked around the small spacecraft, trying to spot Vinnie but he was nowhere to be seen. Poor kid, he had said goodbye to Charley in his usual elegance, trying to stay cool but it had been hard to watch. Charley had had tears in her eyes and Modo had to admit he had had too. Even Throttle's specs had seemed a bit foggy. She had been their only true friend and companion, their partner-in-crime so to speak, for so many years in that strange planet. She had made it easier for them to adjust to the consuming lifestyle they had to adopt while staying on Earth, trying to stay hidden from the humans, not be able to live the life like it's supposed to be lived. Sneaking, wearing helmets all the time while staying outside during the daytime, always self-concious about the tail and wondering how to hide it if people got nearer... They felt so much gratitude towards her, they knew how lucky they had been when their paths had crossed. She had made them feel like home. She was family. He truly concidered her as his sister. And he had told her that before they left.

It had been hard to leave her there. For all of them. But, they weren't Earthlings, they were Martians and they had to go home. They couldn't stay in a foreign planet for the rest of their lives. Living the life in the shadows, hiding and always alert. It had been tough, but he didn't regret it at all. And he had a feeling they'll meet Charley again. As much fun as they had had on Earth, Modo had to admit, he had felt home-sick for a long time. They had been visiting Mars a couple of times during the three years but they hadn't had the time to properly just relax with their families and friends, do normal stuff they would do if they were at home. Okay, there had been a war and the normal days had been few and far between those times but still, Modo couldn't wait to just go on for the long rides on the red sands with Lil' Hoss. He wondered how he even missed the sand gritting between the teeth.

And of course he missed his family. Soon, he would be reunited with his mommah, sister, nephew and niece. He could almost smell his mommah's cookings. He had heard what has been happening during his stay on Earth from his old mommah in the long letters she had sent to him via whoever might have been visiting the blue planet. Like his big sister May had re-married an army bloke which was slightly amusing to Modo. Of course now that the peace had finally arrived to Mars the Freedom Fighters and the Army weren't anymore bickering but still, there were sometimes slight uneasiness around each other. The army was cautious of this raggety bunch of rebels who were usually uncontrollable and raucous. The Fighters didn't really fit in the army standards.

Modo took a deep breath. There had been so many things he had been missing out during their stay on Earth, and he did want to make up for it. Also, if he was really truthful to himself, there was someone he was eager to meet again... The path his mind had been drifting along made him smile a little but he stopped when he heard Throttle to suddenly call out their white furred friend's name. Modo turned his head and saw Vinnie, looking unusually quiet, taking a seat in one of the seats in front of the control panels. He didn't raise his look to even give a nod to Throttle who looked now a bit worried. The tan mouse and Carbine shared a look. Carbine had took the time to come to pick the bros up herself although she was a General and could've ordered the task to some soldiers but she had quickly just stated that it was an honour to do that herself. She had one soldier with her who was driving the spacecraft. Carbine now straightened her back and continued to do the checkings from the meters and contacting the Army Base while Throttle took a seat next to Vinnie. Modo could hear him asking if he was okay and Vinnie only shook his shoulders. It was so odd to see their usually hyper-active friend that down. Throttle only nodded back saying "Things will get better..." But that remark only got Vinnie on his feet with a quick jump and he raised his voice.

"How can things get better while I left Charley there?!" He wasn't sounding angry as much as he sounded desperate.

Throttle took a long breath and looked out of the big window to the darkness, where there was seen a small red spot towards what they were travelling.

"Vincent. Earth is her home. And Mars is ours. You know we all care for Charley and it kills us to leave her there...But Limbuger's gone, and she'll be fine. Our mission is done. It's our duty to go back to Mars. It's time to concentrate on our own planet again and help it to become the planet it once used to be..." Throttle's words drifted off and he glanced at Modo's direction. The grey giant nodded reassuringly to his bro but turned his look outside the window again. After all, what can you say to someone who just got taken away from his loved one? He could say to Vinnie that it gets a bit better after some time but honestly, you never forget.


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome Home

_The next chapter and still I don't own the Biker Mice from Mars, I only own the storyline and some of the characters I've come up with in my imagination. Hope you like it and please review!_

 _-SpaceFlora_

p.s. slight revision done

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter two  
**

 **Welcome Home**

Modo woke up to a loud noise. The engines of the spacecraft were suddenly humming loudly back and forth which meant that they were trying to break from the fast speed the ship was travelling through space. That could only mean that they were on Mars. They were home! Modo quickly got up from the bunk and rushed to the command centre where Carbine was drinking something hot that steamed in her cup while looking at the meters (honestly, did she ever sleep?) and the scene that was opening infront of them. Modo noticed Throttle and Vinnie were already up and they all looked at the red planet that was coming fast towards them, well it seemed that way, of course it was the other way around and they were rushing towards the planet.

The closer they got the more details they could pick up from the surface of the red planet. First there was only red everywhere and high mountains here and there and it seemed like there was nothing more. Ofcourse the mice population lived in the caves and an area that looked deserted from above, could still be inhabitated with a large population. But closer the craft came to the planet, there started to rise towers and big facilities made out of steel. You can't hide the entire planet inside the caves after all.

The area where they were landing soon was the Martian Mice' Army Base. The bros looked at the scenery and it looked like even Vinnie was anxious to set his foot on the home ground again. Modo wondered how long it'll last before his lil' bro would sink into the river of misery again. Carbine took a seat and started to talk to the command centre down at the Army Base. The soldier who was controlling the ship started to press buttons and apparently unlock some of the automatic functions to manual mode and then put his hands on a box-shaped wheel.

"Landing started, General." He quickly announced and Carbine nodded and gave the bros a look but had to turn her look away, trying to prevent a laughter that was to escape her mouth. The three macho male mouses looked eager as kids. The General just continued to sip her hot beverage and smile to her cup. There's nothing like the feeling when you get home after a long time. She then remembered something and put the mug away and went to one cabin and took few items of clothing. When the bros gave her a curious look she only gave them a smile and threw them their Freedom Fighters' vests and tank tops.

"Come on, put these on! You're now entering an area where there are infact some codes and regulations how to be dressed...That look..." Carbine vaguely pointed their naked upper bodies.

"...may have worked in another planet... But in the Base you're not wandering around half-naked..." Carbine raised Throttle an eyebrow. Vinnie gave the pieces of clothing a look on his hand.

" ...and hide my studly body?! C'mon this was after all a gift from the Gods to the people of Mars!" Vinnie gave a cry and his bros were laughing at the glimpse of the usual Vin but put changed the clothes on.

"We're at the moment training a new generation of soldiers... And I don't want them to get bad influence from you guys." Carbine joke and sat down and made a gesture for the bros to do the same.

" I suggest you to take a seat before the ride gets bumpy. Landing a spacecraft can be a tricky job..."

x

x

After the landing Modo searched for his bag and threw it over his shoulder as he got in line to get out of the spacecraft. It was a rather dim and massive hall they entered. There were soldiers and people working at the Army Base hurrying around, doing their tasks, many of them curiously taking a good look at the ones who were walking out of the spaceship. It felt odd to enter the Army's Base, after all during the time they were shot to Earth, Freedom Fighters and the Army still were two separate forces. It seemed to interest also the soldiers in the Base who noticed them wearing the Freedom Fighters' vests. Mars had been only just starting to build itself again and one of the things that had changed was that one branch of Fighters had joined the Army. Stoker hadn't been that thrilled of the idea and he had declined to work with the new government. But after the war it was a sensible career move so to speak for a lot of Fighters who just didn't want to become normal civilians again to join the Army.

"Just out of curiosity, babe..." Throttle talked to Carbine.

"Why did you give us the Fighter vests and didn't make us to wear the Army clothes? We could've fit in better and not catch any attention..." Throttle talked as he looked around the Base and the looks that the soldiers were giving them.

"Speak for yourself, I like the attention...!" Vinnie said as he waved to the soldiers around them like the Queen of England.

"Well...Since technically you're not part of the Army...See, you'd have to make a contract and all... If you want to continue to play with the guns here on Mars...you'll have to get into the Army rows. There is no more Freedom Fighters as combat forces."

"So, what? We're currently unemployed?" Modo joked.

"It's a bit messy after the war and everything... We've been trying to get things working and all. And that means that there has been fusion between the Fighters and the Army into a certain limits. Mars doesn't need resistance right now...Although my uncle seems to disagree but he disagrees with everything." Carbine said as they reached the ground and she turned to them.

"You're officially rebels without a cause right now. You come to see me, if and when you want to have a career as professional soldiers. Meanwhile... " Carbine looked around and then back to the trio and offered her hand.

"Mars would like to thank you for your service."

Throttle looked a bit baffled but shook her hand and so did Vinnie and Modo, too. She then smiled and nodded.

"Welcome home, boys!" And she left. The bros gave each other a look.

"Well, that was harsh, your girlfriend just fired you..." Vinnie snickered to Throttle, who snorted.

"Yes, well... To get fired one should have a job in the first place... And with the Fighters we didn't exactly write down our names on anything...Didn't know it meant we're currently civilians. It's the burocracy I guess..." Throttle rambled on.

"No more Freedom Fighters..." Modo sighed. They had been fighters (or soldiers if you will) for so long the idea that suddenly they're civilians was hard to comprehend.

"Ah knew that we all hoped that one day there'll come a time when the Freedom Fighetrs were no longer needed...But now it's just feels weird. Ah can't even remember how to be a civilian. What does that even mean?" The grey furred mouse asked from Throttle who shrugged his shoulders.

"It means, no firearms, boys..."

"What?! First we have to wear these stupid clothes and now we can't even raise hell?!" Vinnie cried, sounding desperate.

"Man, what's the use to come home when you can't explode stuff?! What am I gonna do with all my adrenaline?!" Vinnie's eyes started to become bigger and bigger, like a panic was waiting him around the corner.

"I need my fix...! My daily-dose of blowing things up!"

Throttle sighed, realizing that'll actually be a massive problem in the future but for now he didn't know what to answer to them. Luckily he didn't need to answer anything because a young soldier suddenly approached them and nodded respectivaly and handed Throttle a note that was folded.

"Sir, from a friend, sir." The boy nodded again, looking at the floor and then hurried away.

They looked after the kid but then turned to the note in Throttle's hand. He opened it up and read it out loud.

"The Silver Door. 8 pm"

"Silver door?" Vinnie asked but noticed the meaningful look on both Modo's and Throttle's eyes.

"Wait, what? What is it? Why you two know something that I don't?!"

"If you sometimes listened to something else beside your own voice you could know something too..." Throttle flashed a quick smile, but decided to drop it and go easy on his bro this time.

"Let's get something to eat first, I'm sure we're all hungry. There's plenty of time until it's 8 o'clock."

x

x

Modo put down his plate of steaming hot mallo soup. Mallo soup was a traditional Martian soup made out of mallo snails that were crawling in the bigger cave systems. Vinnie was already slurping away his soup and Throttle deep in his thougths was only stirring the soup with his spoon. Modo tasted the food and let the taste of it sit awhile inside his mouth before he swallowed.

"Oh man, nearly as good as my mommah's" He then said and couldn't control himself more and attacked the plate with his spoon.

Throttle vaguely smiled at them both. He wanted to quickly ask Vinnie how he was doing but decided to drop it since clearly he wasn't thinking about Charley at the moment. Throttle was a bit worried about the future. Well, actually, he was terrified. Like Modo had been pointing out: What does that even mean to be a civilian? They had been in the rows of the Fighters from as young as 15 to 17 years old. First they were doing some odd jobs for the Fighters: cleaning the bikes, carrying hundreads of boxes, doing whatever they were told to do. Then they were trained to become Freedom Fighters and after that they were handed guns...And they were sent out onto the battlefields.

It had been taken a couple of years before Stoker realized their potential and before they became one of the best Fighters Stoker had. As soldiers they had seen things no one should ever witness and they had done things they didn't want to talk about. But that was all in the past now, that only visited them in their nightmares. And now... If they weren't Fighters anymore... What did it mean? Been a fighter was their whole identity, it was who they were. Taking that away could mean trouble. Throttle knew that not all the soldiers could just continue with their lives after the war. They all had their traumas.

Silently lost in his own thoughts he started to think about all the other Freedom Fighters, their comrades. Where they were now? Have they reluctantly joined the army rows? To "get their fix" as Vinnie had stated. How are they coping with their past? Throttle thought about taking this up while alone with Carbine or if he someday meeted Stoker again, wherever he was.

His thoughts lingered towards Carbine again. It was good to see her again. And she had looked good when he first saw her after a long time when she had stepped out of the spaceship in the Wrigley Field. It's odd to think that she's at the top of her career, a General, and he's currently "unemployed ex-rebel". Well, they always were different but how will their lives entwine again after all these years he had spent on Earth? Long-distance relationships are something else, they were actually on different planets! Can that even be a relationship? Suddenly Throttle got nervous to even thinking about meeting with Carbine. What's next?

He felt an elbow hitting his side and he startled and gave Vinnie a rude look behind the fieldspecs.

"Earth calling Throttle! Sorry, _Mars_ calling Throttle! Man, it's hard to keep up with in which planet are you on..." Vinnie muttered, his plate empty. Throttle looked at Modo who was currently wiping his plate clean with a piece of bread. Throttle looked at the clock on the wall of the little bar they were in, near the Army Base. He was slightly aware of the other mice staring at them in secret. Maybe it was a long time since they've seen a Freedom Fighter and even during the war some people had been cautious about them, not really sure how to deal with this rebel bunch. Maybe the people around them were a bit worried since the Fighters shouldn't even exists at the moment. The Freedom Fighters' Headquarters had been turned into a Medical and Research Centre, the clever fighters who could do all the programming and coding and the medical staff got to stay there while the soldiers had to choose Army or unemployment. That's the decision they also have to make.

"Sorry, I was just deep in my thoughts I guess..." Throttle finally got to say, different scenarios and questions still racing through his mind.

"We still have about 5 hours until it's time to meet whoever is behind that note.."

Modo leaned to his elbows, looked at Throttle and then straightened his back, stretching.

"Aight... Ah think Ah'll be headin' to my mommah's house. Ah'll have enough time to drop in there to make a quick visit."

"Okay..." Throttle nodded and then turned to Vinnie who suddenly seemed gloomy again. Maybe when thinking about visiting loved ones he was reminded of Charley.

"I think I'll just go out and ride the sands..." He muttered and left the table without giving them a glance. Modo looked after him.

"Man, Ah'm worried about him..." He lowered his voice on a deeper baritone level.

"Yeah...Love's a tricky business..." Throttle sighed but then tapped the table a couple of times.

"And speakin' of tricky business, I think I'll go meet the General..."

Modo didn't answer to that, he only had a knowing smile on his face while standing up. Throttle noticed his smile but didn't comment on it, just took his Fighter's vest that he had taken off and gave it a look, wearing his own leathers still.

"Now that the Fighters are history, these things will be collectibles... Rarities..."

"Yeah, like ourselves..." Modo made a snort and they left the bar.

x

x

Modo was to head towards his momma's house that was an hour away from the Army's Base in Brimstone City. He was riding the red sands on the sunny afternoon (although on the fourth planet from the Sun it's not as bright as it is on Earth), Lil' Hoss purring excitedly, recognizing the familiar sand underneath her wheels. Modo patted his beloved bike murmuring. "Yeah, Ah know Lil' Darlin'... Can't believe Ah'm home either! Let's blast through the sands like in the good ol' days!" He then revved his bike more, taking the scenic route towards his mommah's house (Scenic route means in Mars more or less more sand).

Then after riding 15 minutes he suddenly realizes how close he was at The Freedom Fighters' old Headquarters. The old one along with the Monastery on top of it were pretty much demolished during the war but the new Medical and Research Centre was now standing in the distance, rising from the same place. He gave it a thought and then decided his momma won't get mad if he comes to greet him a couple of minutes later and so he turned Lil' Hoss towards the old Headquarters. The bike gave a high pitched beep and Modo laughed. He was really feeling the same happiness as Lil' Hoss to ride once again towards the directon where the Headquarters once used to be. Maybe he'll see familiar faces there since some of the workers at the Research Center used to be his fellow comrades. Well, if he was really honest he wanted to see one familiar face particularly.

x

x

Carbine was making her usual rounds at the Army Base as he spotted Throttle, walking towards her, wearing his leather vest instead of the Fighter ones and missing the tank top, his chest bare. She rolled her eyes and gave a slight sigh.

"So, you wanna know what happens when you're rebelling against the direct orders in the real world..?" She asked as soon as he was in the distance of hearing her even somewhat properly. Throttle zipped his vest and flashed a smile.

"Don't wanna end up falling to the Pit of Ever-lasting Doom..." He flashed a smile but immidiatly remembered the incident few years back when he and his bros were about to do just that, due to her orders. He gave a deep sigh.

"Sorry, didn't mean to bring that up... "

"That's okay..." Carbine looked a bit ashamed.

"If it's any good, we've actully stopped using the Pit of Ever-lasting Doom... We can all agree it's a bit old-fashioned and also Mars is not under the Martial law anymore..."

"I hope you've at least invented something that sounds as dramatic?" Throttle gave a slight smile and Carbine relaxed and even laughed a bit. That made Throttle to smile more. She had such a nice laugh, contagious. Unfortunately it was as rare to hear her laugh as to see plants on Mars. The soldier that was making rounds with Carbine was excused and they were left alone. Suddenly Throttle's mind was blank. Carbine looked at him but then turned around to lean her back against the wall.

"Can you believe we're standing here? After all we've been through?" She asked with a sigh.

"Honestly? No. I can't..." He started. Their looks met each other.

"I've missed you." Carbine softly said. Throttle gave her a look. Looking at her now she suddenly seemed like the young innocent girl she was as they met just before they had both decided to join the rivalry teams.

"Babe, I've missed you too... But..." Throttle was to say he was scared but didn't. That would sound weird. He cleared his throat and for some reason, Carbine gave him a look that somehow was understanding, like she knew exactly what he was feeling. Their moment was cut short since a siren suddenly started to ring loudly. Carbine didn't look startled, though, only stopped leaning against the wall, straightened her uniform and gave Throttle a quick look.

"Gotta go. It's just this rehearsal...For the soldiers we're training..."

Throttle only nodded back.

"But..." Carbine stopped and turned around on her heels to face him and took his hand to hers.

"If you're up to meet me later, we could go somewhere to eat...? The cafeteria here serves eatable food?"

Throttle nodded and gave a little smile.

"That sounds good."

"See you then, babe." Carbine smiled and left and on her way she shouted something to some soldiers who quickly started to follow her. Throttle decided to go for a ride and maybe check if he could find Vinnie somewhere. He was feeling a bit anxious for his bro, not knowing what that adrenaline-junkie was going to do with all that spare time before their meeting at 8pm. He must send Vin's and Modo's bikes the coordinates anyway, where to meet in just a few hours. The coordinates weren't exact ones since he didn't really know where they were going and what to find there. "The Silver door." Throttle muttered. "Man I thought you were only a myth."


	3. Chapter 3: Reconnections

_Thanks for the reviews, guys! I appreaciate it a lot that you take time to write a few lines for me after reading my story! Okay, so about this timeline I have here, I think every BM fan fic writer has a slightly different timeline and I've been thinking that (based on the original 90's series) the guys have been on Earth max three years. This thought comes purely from my own observations. So, with that in mind, I also have the guys been visiting Mars twice instead of once during that timeline. The first visit of course been that "Back to Mars"-situation but I thought that well since there have been quite many Martian mice (Carbine, Rimfire, Stoker) visiting the Earth during those "three years", wouldn't it be appropriate that those lummocks decided to even once hop on to those spacecrafts and visit their family...? And then come back again to save the planet Earth? Secondly, I'm using the same idea that I've seen a couple of fan fic writes to use and that is the idea that the Plutarkians would have poisoned the waters on Mars during the wartime, leaving a majority of the women infertile. I don't know whose idea that was in the first place but the credits on that goes to that person. Anyway, thanks again to the readers and for the reviews! It keeps me motivated!_

 _\- SpaceFlora_

 _p.s. slight revision done_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter three  
**

 **Reconnections**

Modo hit the breaks just infront of the new Medical and Research Center. There was a tall wire fence around the facilities. Modo leaned on the forks of his bike, looking at the fence and the big building behind it. It loomed omniously, standing tall and massive. Modo cringed slightly when thinking about the possible medical facilities that were hiding inside that building. The ones that had gotten under the knife unwillingly during the war weren't too keen on the doctors and such. It was slightly ironic that the person he wished to see here was in fact working in the medical field. He then drove around the fence before he came across the gate with a tiny booth. Modo drove by the booth and got up, knocking on the window. The guy inside the booth, presumably a guard, got a bit startled behind his newspaper but then opened the window.

"Yes?"

"Hello, there... Mind lettin' me in...?"

The man looked a bit confused.

"The gate's electric, just show it your work ID-card." The guard said and closed the window again before Modo. The grey furred mouse raised an eyebrow and then with a sigh he knocked on the window again with his metallic finger. The guard looked a bit annoyed.

"Yes?"

"Well, Ah ain't got an ID-card... See Ah ain't working there but Ah gotta get in."

"I see..." The man now noticed his Fighter vest.

"Wait a minute.." The man closed the window again and then dialed a number on the phone. The guard clearly tried to describe Modo to the person on the other side of the line as he was waving his hands while talking. Modo leaned against the booth, looking at the big building. He heard the window got a bit ajar again.

"What's your name, sir?"

"Name's Modo..." Modo was to continue but the window got closed. He let a deep sigh and leaned his back against the booth again, crossing his arms. He missed the good old days, when the Headquarters were beneath the Monastery. Those monks were a fun bunch. Quiet but fun. They offered tea and didn't ask some Identifications..

Now that his mind had started to wander down the memory lane he thought about the woman he had come to meet here. He thought about the last time they'd met while he was visiting Mars briefly. They had been together back in the days when the war was still raging on. He was fighting at the frontiers while she was serving as a medical assistant in the battlefields. They had meet here, at the Headquarters. But it's tough to keep up with your love-life during the war and when he and his bros were shot down to Earth, it had been over a year before he got back home again. They had been visiting Mars once more after that but the duty they felt for keeping Earth safe was keeping them from returning home and settle down.

Until now. First time they visited Mars he and her had been talking and come to a conclusion it's not working for them to be in that kind of an extra-long distance relationship, without knowing when he'll be back on Mars again. It wouldn't be fair to either of them. Then time passed by again and the second time Modo visited Mars with his bros, just over six months ago, he had searched her again and the old flame had warmed up right away. He knew then that she was the one for him, and that even as their relationship had been a little unstable, it had grown strong over the years. Luckily the Martians had their own "Skype", that allowed them to at least stay connected even though staying on different planets. It had been pure torture from time to time to be on Earth the last couple of months. Just waiting to get back home and see his girl again. Now, if all things worked out and he could actually think about settling down he... His thoughts were cut off as the window was opened again and Modo merely turned his look towards it.

"Sorry, sir. They told me to let you in. Sorry, for the wait, sir."

"No worries." Modo replied as the gate opened up and he rolled Lil' Hoss on the other side of the fence.

He parked Lil' Hoss and went inside through the glass front door. The facilities inside were having this new shine on them. It was bright, white and clean. Modo stopped and looked around.

"Things have changed alright..." Modo walked the aisles and studied his surroundings. There were some posters on the wall, promoting new technology. There were new medical equipment behind glass showcases. Modo turned his look away from the medical equipment, unconciously touching the place where his robotic arm was connected to his body, feeling slightly nauseous.

"Hey, you." He suddenly heard a familiar voice behind his back and turned around. A light brown female with blonde hair so fair they were nearly white, was standing with a pile of binders under her arm, wearing a white doctor's coat. She was way shorter than Modo and had soft curves along with a soft smile and dark eyes. She smiled at him and walked over. Modo relaxed a bit and smiled back.

"Hey, to you too..." His voice was low and warm.

"I was just having a break and heard that there was a big man with an eyepatch and an bionic arm standing outside. It was either me or the guards to come over to greet you..." The woman chuckled. Modo only smiled shyly back, scratching his neck.

"We just got back to Mars few hours ago and Ah was headin' to my momma's place but then decided to drop by to say hello to you first..." Modo gave a quick glance to the people now walking down the corridors, the heels of their shoes clopping along the pure white shiny hallways.

"That's nice. I appreciate it... How was the trip...?" The woman smiled softly while showing him which way they could start walking.

"It was good, everybody's good..." Modo talked back.

"You talk like having a trip through space is as common as riding a bus...Not everyone has visited the space, you know." The woman gave a little laugh while letting them in to the Medical wing with her ID card. Modo smiled back but swallowed nervously, trying not to let his look wander around the halls filled with pretty graphical images about surgerys. His heart started to pound faster. The woman lead them to a room, an office, and then closed the door behind them. She studied his slightly panicked expression.

"It's okay, Modo, you can breathe now... I thought my office would be a better place to catch up."

"Thanks, Aprilia...Man this place is really giving me the flashbacks..." Modo said rubbing his neck but was clearly more relaxed inside this somewhat cozy little office with few plants and a bookcase. He looked around him, studying the interior and the photos she had there. He noticed a photo of a little baby girl in one picture. Modo pointed at it. "Cute. Who's she?"

"She's my first successful patient actually. Well, her mother was my first successful patient and she was the first reminder to me that there's still hope for our population..." Aprilia sighed, clearly somewhat in her own thoughts. During the war the Plutarkians had somehow poisoned the water on Mars with chemicals that had left many females infertile. Or so it had seemed before a group of medical staff at the Freedom Fighters' Headquarters started their long research about how could they reverse the effects of the chemicals in the female bodies. Then there had been a breakthrough in the research and soon some females started to get pregnant again. The cure still wasn't perfect, it worked only on about half of the females. Still, this was a huge thing on Mars, since during the war the mice population had gotten smaller and smaller. Modo turned his look on her.

"That sounds amazing, darlin', you should be really proud of yourself." He murmured gently.

"Thanks." Aprilia sighed, looking a bit tired. She had been so involved with the reasearch project that she had hardly had any rest for a long time. Modo turned to her and took her hand, which was much slender and smaller than his own palm, he stroked her palm gently, turning it around and finally he pressed a kiss on it. Aprilia closed her eyes.

"I've missed you, Modo.." She whispered.

"Ah've missed ya, too, Aprilia...It's been awhile." Modo gave her a smile but then looked down at her hand again. It was soft like everything about her.

"Is it over now? The mission on Earth?" Aprilia asked quietly letting her hands feel his sides and back, first a bit shyly but then getting more comfortable with it, remembering immidiately every muscle and scar on his impressive upper torso. Well, there had comen a few new scars in the mix as well... Modo's eye found hers' and he nodded.

"Yeah. Ah'm home now." He's deep voice was rumbling. The room was so quiet that one could nearly hear each other's heartbeat as he then lowered his head slightly hesitantly but seeing the longing in her eyes he lowered his head even more and felt her lips against his.

x

x

It was peaceful, but for once Vinnie actually enjoyed it. He had driven as long as it took him to cool down from his mental turmoil, which had been taken a while. Now he was sitting on the red sands, far from any habitation, looking at the sun that was hanging quite low already. It was nice and pretty. But all he could think of was that he would get more joy out of it if Charley was here to watch it with him. Vinnie leaned to his hand and took a deep breath. Great, now he's sinking into some sissy romantic dreams. He hadn't expected this. He laid on the sand. He missed her so much. He wondered if she missed him too? Well, obviously she had to miss this amount of greatness. Right..? Vinnie closed his eyes. This was not like him, he didn't enjoy this a bit. He was lovesick and really, really missing his girl. He got startled up as Throttle send his bike coordinates to this "Silver door". Vinnie snorted. Right now he felt like he couldn't care a less.

Suddenly he heard another beeping sound coming from his bike and he couldn't get up faster and nearly tripped over his own feet while rushing to his bike. That was the frequency Charley used. But...How could she send a message to him from another planet? He read from the little screen on the bike's dashboard.

" _You know it would be nice to know if you fur-brains got home safely. It's not like you just took a cab and drove down the street."_

Vinnie started to laugh and rubbed his face. Oh man, this woman was something else. He missed even her temper, the way she used to shout at him... Vinnie was still a bit baffled about her ability of contacting through space but wrote back.

" _Yes we made it back home. Luckily the team had the baddest mammajammer on board to help them navigate through the stars!"_

" _Yes, I've seen how you guys can drive spacecrafts. Say thanks to Carbine for me, for getting you guys home in one piece."_

Vinnie smiled and wrote again: _"Sweetheart, not that I mind, but how can you send me these texts?"_

" _Not to brag but I do know a thing or two when it comes to the machinery in case you haven't noticed."_

Vinnie had to laugh out loud. _"It takes a genius to know one, right, sweetheart?"_

" _You can't see it but I'm rolling my eyes."_

Vinnie thought a moment. He was eager to spell the three words he had on his mind to her via intergalactic letters. That he loved her... Wow. He nearly got startled by his own feelings. He loved her. Like really loved her, she was his girl. And it had never felt more true than now when he was standing here, thousands and thousands of kilometres away from her. But... Why is it that saying it to someone is so hard. It should be easy. He knows she's the one for him. How come he had to leave her there alone? Why did he leave her there alone? Vinnie suddenly got anxious.

 _"You're okay there, sweetheart?"_ He typed fast. He had to make sure first that she was doing okay. That she was safe.

There was a slight pause but then the lights on the dashboard started to blink again and he received another message.

" _I'm okay. Just really missing you."_

Vinnie's heart jumped and started to act all wild. He didn't really know if Charley had meant the last word as a plural or not. But as soon as he was to write her back he read from the dashboard that the connection had died. He did a facepalm. C'mon! Talking about cliffhangers!

x

x

Throttle was sipping a soda while Carbine walked to him at the Army's cafeteria.

"Sorry, we don't have any root beer here. Just berry sodas. You should try to cut down anyway, you do know how much sugar there's in one can, right...?"

"Yes, I don't even want to know how much damage the root beer diet has done to our teeth back on Earth..." Throttle chuckled.

"Join the Army, we've got the dental care." Carbine flashed a smile. Throttle only raised his eyebrow smiling behind his glasses.

"Is that the only reason to join?"

"It's a pretty good reason." Carbine laughed, they were now staring at each other in close proximity by the table. Throttle took his fieldspecs off and showed them to Carbine.

"You don't happen to know where can I get these fixed? Miraculously they do not stand for years of gunning and bombing."

"Just get a new pair."

"No, no. Stoker gave these to me." Throttle talked while putting the glasses back on.

"C'mon, he propably just got them from some flee market..."

"They have value to me. So, what was that about us been civilians? Surely you can overlook a couple of guns...?" Throttle grinned.

"A couple?" Carbine gave another one of those lovely laughters.

"I've seen your bikes, you're more armed than the Army!" She then got up to order something to eat.

"I'll give you two days to decide what to do. After that, I'm afraid you'll have to turn over your weapons to the Army."


	4. Chapter 4: The Silver Door

_Thanks again for the reviews! I'm always happy to read what you're thinking about the story! So here's a new chapter, hope you guys like it! The story is slowly evolving..._

 _-SpaceFlora_

 _p.s. slight revision done_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter four  
**

 **The Silver Door**

It was close to 6 p.m. as Modo drove to his mommah's yard that was infront of a rock the colour of burnt sienna. In the frontyard there were growing desert flowers, white, blue and pink ones. Those were growing so nonchalantly that it was hard to figure out did the flowers grow there naturally or had his mommah planted them there. For a non-Martian cave mouse the cave homes and especially the entrances were usually hard to spot. The caves were behind steel doors, hidden in the nooks of the rocks so one should know exactly where to look for the door. The sun was nearly down as he stepped off his bike and walked to the door. He dialled the code on the door and the door opened before him.

"Mommah! You home?" Modo hollered but as he laid his bag down he felt two arms tightly around his middle.

"My dear, dear baby boy! You're finally home!"

"Hey, mommah...! How have you been?" Modo returned the hug, been more gentle with it than his old mommah who squeezed him tightly. He was always amused of the fact his mommah still called him as "baby". His mommah was a short woman, her grey hair tied into a bun on the top of her head. The glasses perched on her nose had gotten a bit foggy and she had to wipe her tears.

"Come, come, don't just stand there in the hall...! Ah've made dinner...!" She hurried him and he just gave a laugh. He had secretly hoped that there would be something to eat since nothing beat her mommah's cookings! (And it didn't matter that he actually just ate a couple of hours ago...) As he entered the dining area beside the kitchen he noticed they weren't alone.

"May!" Modo spread his arms as his big sister ran to him and hopped to put her arms around his neck.

"Been a long time, lil' brother! How was the trip? I'm so jealous! Ah wanna go ride the spaceships, too!"

Modo only gave a laugh back and put her down on the ground. His sister was an energy-pack just like her daughter Primer. Her fur was lighter grey than the one of her brother and mother and her hair was black. She was still quite tall for a female cave mouse, standing a bit taller than Carbine.

"We luckily had the General ma'am to bring us back otherwise there'd be a new crater on Mars..." Modo chuckled. He then gave a look at the fourth person in the room. May turned around, too.

"You remember Radius, right...?"

"Sure..." Modo said shaking hands with the man who got up.

"Hey, there soldier..." Radius nodded. He had come straight from work since he was still wearing his Army Lieutenant uniform, the stripes decorating the shoulder pieces. Radius was a white mouse as tall as Throttle although a bit slender but his posture gave him the appearance of a bigger man.

Mommah came carrying the steaming hot stew and Modo took a seat beside the table.

"So, Modo... Nice to see you're doing okay. A lot has changed around here, don't you think?" Radius asked sounding formal even as trying to speak in a relaxed way.

"It sure has..." Modo talked as mommah started to scoop food to his plate.

"It takes some time to adjust to the normal life as an ex-soldier...It can be hard." Radius started again. Modo glanced at him.

"Yeah..."

"Ex-soldier?" May got interested in the conversation and turned to look at her brother.

"Ya quit?"

"No, no, honey..." Radius started.

"There are no more Freedom Fighters, it's all much simpler nowadays. There's only the Army now and your brother isn't currently listed as a soldier. Right?" Radius gave Modo a reassuring glance and Modo merely shook his head, not too interested in where this conversation was heading.

"See? Therefore he's a civilian now." Radius turned to talk to May again.

"You're goin' to get listed then? Join the Army? You're soldier, right? What would ya do as a civilian?" May had her eyes on her little brother.

"May, dear, don't grill your brother, he just got home! There's plenty of time for you to talk..." Mommah snapped and May sighed and continued to eat.

"So, how are the kids?" Modo changed the subject after clearing his throat.

"The kids are fine... Rimfire's been workin' at the Research Center."

"Yeah, Ah heard. What sort of work he's doin' in there?"

"Well, you know how much he always liked his computers... He does some coding or something. Ah have no clue what he's doing in there 'cause all that stuff goes way over my head..." May talked between spoonfuls.

"And Primer?"

"She's good, she's working as a medical assistant at the healthcare centre right here in Brimstone City. In the same place where Aprilia's doin' her doctor shifts. You know, Primer's dating?"

"Oh? He any good?" Modo gave her sister a look that said "if he ain't Ah'll make sure to do something about it". May only chuckled.

"Ah appreciate your concern but he's actually a really nice kid."

"Yes, he's working down at the local market you know, which his dad owns... Real nice boy. They make a cute couple. Now, take more stew, dear..." Momma talked and scooped more food to Modo's plate even though it was still half full.

"So, the General gave you the orders to turn over your weapons yet?" Radius asked Modo and gave a quick look at his robotic arm. The question along with the look hit Modo right in the stomach. He actually hadn't even thought about that when Carbine had talked about "no weapons". He didn't really think of his robotic arm that often anymore. It was part of him albeit it been a weapon. Of course one could do serious damage with it, it had a built-in laser on it and all but still. It was his arm.

"She did." Was all Modo could answer right now since at the moment his mind was racing as he stared at the steaming bowl of stew in front of him. Momma then pointed at Radius.

"No work talk at the table, hm?"

"Yes, ma'am." Radius nodded back, a little disappointed.

Modo shared a brief look with her mother who only gave him a firm nod along with a warm smile as she then scooped even more food to his plate.

"Eat, eat, you're a growin' mouse!"

Modo chuckled back.

"Ah hope not."

x

x

At 8 p.m. in the middle of nowhere

"Not to put your navigating skills to shame but I'm not sure this is the place we should be at..." Vinnie talked while they were sitting on their bikes, in the middle of the red sand dunes, far from anywhere.

"I mean, where's the silver door?"

"Look, I don't know what to expect either. I only took the coordinates from this." Throttle said and threw the white mouse a map of star constellations.

"Stars? Hey, if you were looking for the brightest star to navigate with, you should've just waited for yours truly to show up..." Vinnie smirked and flexed his muscles.

Throttle only gave a sigh and turned his look to Modo.

"Had a nice meal with your momma?"

"Ah did, yes..." Modo answered briefly, looking into the distance. Throttle raised an eyebrow since usually Modo loved to talk about his mommah and tell how's she doing and all.

"But, c'mon, Throttle, why stars...?" Vinnie wanted to know.

"Well, Little One, have you heard about the star constellations?" Throttle asked.

"Of course, I wasn't born in the barrel." Vinnie snorted.

"So, you know there are different constellations that are named after things they resemble, right?"

"Yes, yes, hurry up with the bed time story, it's getting boring...!"

"There's a myth or a folk-tale about the Silver Door constellation and how it opens a door into another dimension..."

"...getting better.."

"So, at the moment, we're right under the Silver Door constellation..." Throttle pointed towards the sky. Vinnie looked up and saw a rectangular shape made up of stars just visible if you concentrated.

"You mean the sky's gonna open up and we get sucked into a another dimension...?" Vinnie's eyes got bigger as he took a deep breath. Looking to be on the verge of excitement.

"No. That's not what I mean."

"Oh, shoot. Just when this was getting somewhere..." Vinnie whined.

"You don't think the note was just to mess up with us...?" Modo asked.

"Hard to say...Look, it's 8 o'clock, lets just wait for a little while and see if anything happens..." Throttle got more relaxed. The evening was cold as it always was in this planet. The darkness around them started to suck all the red colour around them and soon it was so dark they couldn't see anything except the scenery their bikes' headlights had lit up ahead of them. It was quiet. Only the wind blew around them, carrying sand. Suddenly the earth started to shake beneath them.

"Well, it may not be the sky but something's surely opening up...!" Modo got to say as the sand started to slip underneath them and they stepped on the gas. They drove fast forward and while on top of a sand dune they turned around and saw something rising under the ground, under the red fine sand. As the big building had emerged fully like from thin air, the shaking stopped and it was quiet again. The mice gave each other a confused look but then turned to stare at the building infront of them.

"Oh, mommah..."

"You can say that again..."

"Aooow! But what a way to make an entrance!"

Their headlights were pointing at the front of the building and soon a big door started to slide open. The bros got alert and ready to fire if the situation needed it. They heard a sound of a bike. Actually it was quite a familiar noise, they knew that bike. While it dawned on them who was coming, they relaxed from their battle mode and took away their helmets and got up from their bikes, to stand in line. The only one who could get a greeting like that from them, couldn't be anyone else except their commander. Stoker hit the breaks before them and opened up the visor of his helmet.

" 'When the night falls, and the silver door opens, there's a new dawn.' " He quoted lines from an old Martian folktale.

"Oh, man..." Vinnie crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. The grandpa was still cool.


	5. Chapter 5: The Meeting

_Thanks for the reviews again, guys! And a special thank you to Wolftattoo and for pointing out a few errors in my grammar (which I then returned to correct). I sometimes write during the dark hours of the night and my eyes can be a little tired to spot everything, even if I try to spellcheck and read the text many times before posting it here, there still might appear stupid mistakes. Also, I have a kitten here who loves to jump on the keyboards and spell gibberish, so I have to try to erase also whatever he may have added to the story!_

 _Anyways, in this chapter I'm concentrating a little bit on the Freedom Fighters. I'm thinking why Stoker started the FF in the first place, what were his motives behind it (It doesn't go that deep in the series to answer all the questions...) Also, what the government might have thought about the Freedom Fighters at the time. After all, like it said in "Once upon..." the government was corrupted. They had to be scared of the Fighters in some level since the rebels knew the truth about them and what was really going on during the war. Well, since I highly doubt that the old government's working there anymore, there are new guys in charge. But it doesn't mean that those guys are good either. Funny thing about power is that it can turn people crazy. And also: I was wondering that forming an armed rebel group might not be legal even during the unstable times. From the government's point of view the Freedom Fighters might've even been criminals. Having belonged to a rebel group during the war time might not be such a good merit after the war has ended. All things that are morally right might not be legal. Ah, but okay, this is turning out to be a rather loooong babble...So, here's a new chapter, please enjoy!_

 _-SpaceFlora_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter five**

 **The Meeting**

"Stoker?"

"The one and only, rookies!" Stoker got off his bike and took away his helmet, revealing his long ponytail that had already few grey hairs in the mix. Although he started to be older, he had this physics that made him seem ageless.

"You sent us the note?" Throttle asked.

"Well, I had to make sure that I reached you before the government did..." Stoker talked while putting down the helmet, looking around them, like making sure they weren't followed.

"The government? What are you talking about?" Throttle asked confused.

"I'm talking about that the government has an eye on every former Freedom Fighter...Why do you think I'm hiding here in the desert like a damn rat?"

"Because you're a crazy old man that's gone slightly demented?" Vinnie asked, looking pleased with his witty remark and chuckled lightly. Stoker gave him a look and took him in a headlock.

"Is that so, punk...? I might be getting older but that doesn't mean that I can't take you down...!"

"Hey, hey...!" Vinnie protested, finally getting himself free.

"Watch the plate...! I just cleaned it and I don't want any of your desert fingers poking marks on it...!"

"Look, not long after the war ended and the new government was established, I started to notice a pattern. Former Fighters started to go on missing." Stoker then continued his story.

"What you mean missing?" Modo asked a hint of worry in his voice.

"I mean, I couldn't contact them, didn't know their whereabouts...It was like they've just vanished into thin air."

"Didn't cross your mind that they might not just want to talk to you...?" Vinnie asked innocently but Throttle gave him a stern look back and he only raised his hands.

"Fine...Let's all be very serious here...!"

"You don't think the new government's behind the missing Fighters?" Throttle asked their mentor.

"Who knows, they're not exactly cooperating...I tried finding out about it myself but soon realized that been the leader of the Freedom Fighters, I had a prize for my head so to speak. The government wants to bring me in for questioning and other Fighters as well. Apparently they're a bit paranoid about the Fighters although we haven't been that active for a few years now, after the war ended."

"Why would they be paranoid about us? After all we fought for this planet, too." Throttle asked.

"Well, we did but we also did fight against our former traitor government and that makes them slightly worried. They don't want former "renegades" running around without supervision that is. That's why they've been trying to recruit Fighters to join in the Army, so they can keep an eye on us, control us. That's the reason it's never a good decision to join in the Army, they make you obey rather than to think with your own brain..."

"Ah don't know, Stoke... Seems a bit far-fetched..." Modo wondered, rubbing his chin.

"Yeah? Then where are these missing Fighters? Before they'd gone missing I had been talking with many of them and they were all against joining the Army. Maybe a decision was made for them."

"C'mon, ya know what it was like back then... Maybe they just... Wanted to have a fresh start somewhere..." Modo shrugged his shoulders. Stoker shook his head.

"These weren't desperate men and women. They had future plans, families... What would the odds be for a such a big group of people, who just happened to be ex-Fighters, go on missing like that?"

Modo only looked down, shrugging his shoulders.

"And let's face it..." Stoker started, having a slightly mischievous look on his face.

"It wasn't exactly legal to start an armed rebel group or been part of it no matter how uncertain times we were living...The Headquarters weren't in a secret location for no reason."

"Legal, schmegal, what's a few law-breakings when you're whipping tail and doing the right thing!" Vinnie cried out.

"Yes, it's funny how doing morally the right thing might not be legal. If you rob a bank to give the money to the poor, it's still a robbery." Stoker said.

"You mean to say that the government thinks we're criminals...?" Throttle summed up. Stoker only shrugged his shoulders.

"They certanly didn't give us any medals...Luckily we didn't left behind so many files so it's hard for them to convict people and just figure out what the Fighters actually did. But that of course leaves room for speculations."

"But the citizens know the truth?" Modo asked.

"Citizens are easily manipulated and truth can always be turned into lies. And even during the war people didn't quite know what to make of us, rebels make them a bit anxious. People like simple things, familiar things. Sure there are people who always rooted for us and knew what was going on, but the majority of people are just as ignorant as they can be."

"Ah have to sit down." Modo sighed deeply and sat down on his bike, rubbing tiredly his temples.

"So, I wanted to warn you to be careful, if the government's interested in me then surely they're interested in the three of my best soldiers."

"Wait.." Throttle started.

"Why didn't they just arrest us and bring us into interrogation when we got back on Mars? We were after all already at the Army Base?"

"I don't think the Army knows about this. I mean, they must have a special task force which works on this case." Stoker said and clearly knew what Throttle was thinking.

"Don't think Carbine knows about this either. She may be a high-ranking army officer but she also has connections to the Fighters which may make her a bit unreliable in the eyes of the government."

There was a deep silence.

"Wow." Throttle then raised his eyebrow behind his glasses, giving his two bros a look, who were clearly thinking about all the stuff they've just heard and trying to make sense of it all.

"What does this all mean, coach?" Throttle asked.

"It means that we have to find out what happened to our missing brothers." Stoker said and got affirming looks back.

"The Freedom Fighters are still active?" Throttle asked.

"As long as it needs to be. When there's justice happening in thisplanet I'm happy to call it quits but before that...The bigger question is: You're still with me?" Stoker sat down on his bike, and looked at the trio, waiting.

"You know you don't even have to ask us that, coach." Modo nodded back standing up from his bike.

"Yeah, this mouse' too cool to settle down as a civilian!" Vinnie pointed at himself.

"Although I guess this is even more under cover work from now on...?" Throttle asked and Stoker smiled back.

"Yes, we don't want the government to get all worried again...I trust you three. That's why I let you guys know where I'm hiding. Incase you need to contact me, you know my bike's frequency level..."

"Wait, what about our weapons? Carbine just told us that if we're not joining in the Army, we have to turn over our weapons?" Throttle asked. Stoker put on his helmet, revved his bike and gave them a laugh.

"You're not in the Army, you don't have to take orders." He said and drove off.


	6. Chapter 6: See You Soon

_Hi guys! Okay, so thanks again for the reviews! With this next chapter I had to write these lines over and over again to make them good. There were plenty of emotions and I really try to think from the characters' point of view which sometimes takes time before you get into that specific state of mind to write something..._

 _Some things about this chapter: Throttle's tattoo. I've always thought that the tattoo Throttle has is a Freedom Fighters tattoo. I don't know why. Maybe it's told somewhere I don't know... It just fits. So in this story it is like that._

 _In a way this chapter is a bit of a filler, since I didn't want the guys to just disappear without saying goodbye to the ones they care about._

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter six**

 **See You Soon**

Carbine drove her bike to a bar that was situated on the outskirts of Brimstone City. She hopped off the bike and walked inside. While looking around she saw Throttle in one of the booths back at the bar a pint infront of him that had remained untouched though.

"Throttle..." Carbine started, looking puzzled but Throttle raised his hand to let her know to speak more quietly.

"What...? What is all this...?" Carbine nearly whispered as she sat down, now looking around them cautiously.

"Had to see you... There came a slight inconvenience..." Throttle talked, keeping an eye on her. Carbine looked baffled and leaned over the table.

"What do you mean? Everything's okay?"

"Not really, no..." Throttle answered and sighed.

"I have to go away for a while...Just wanted to let you know, thought it was better to see you than... You know, the radio could've been eavesdropped..."

"Eavesdropped by whom...? What kinda trouble are you in?"

"I can't really discuss it with you, I'm sorry... It's too much of a risk for you if you know about it. It can hurt your career and make your life difficult..."

"My career? Is this about the Army?"

"No... Not exactly." Throttle looked down on his pint. The bar was nearly empty, only few people sitting by the bar desk, hunching over it.

"Okay...So, tell me atleast what I can do!" Carbine's voice was now demanding.

"You can't do anything. That's the problem. No one can, except me and my bros..."

Carbine gave a sigh and shook her head.

"Alright, guess I have to settle for that for now... Here's the thing you asked me to bring." She then handed Throttle a bag. Throttle took the black t-shirt from the bag and put it on, under his black leather biker vest. He carefully pull the t-shirt's sleeves down and made sure his Freedom Fighter tattoo didn't show underneath it. Carbine only looked at him getting ready. She shook her head again and leaned back.

"I don't like this..."

"Me neither, but I can't change the way things are..." Throttle talked rather enigmatically. He gave Carbine a look and took her hand into his and squeezed it lightly.

"Thanks. I knew I could trust you."

Carbine only gave a quick smile back but then sighed.

"What are we doing?"

"What d'ya mean?"

"I mean us. What is happening to us?"

Throttle was silent and looked into his pint. He cleared his throat.

"I don't know."

Carbine gave a warm but sad smile as she nodded.

"That's what I thought." She then got up but stood there beside the table.

"I don't know either..." She was to continue but then shook her head.

"I'm sorry, this is not the time and place, I should know that... You obviously have your duties to fill... I understand, I'm not mad that you're leaving again. It's just... I was to wait for a better time to talk about things, but then realized that it's never a good time."

Throttle nodded back and leaned back on the bench.

"I care about you, Carbine."

"And I care about you too. I will always care about you." She then gave Throttle a kiss on his cheek.

"Look, be safe, okay. Whatever it is that you can't talk to me about... It has to be bad. And I don't want you to get hurt, okay? Promise?"

"I promise." Throttle smiled back and stroked her cheek. She kissed his palm and left.

x

x

Aprilia folded her cardigan more tightly around her while hearing a knock on the door of her studio apartment, carved into a bigger cave system, where were over twenty other apartments. It was big enough for one person since it included only a kitchen, bedroom and a small bathroom. It was cozy although not overly decorated since she hated unmeaningful garbage cluttering the space. She opened the door and saw Modo leaning against the cave wall.

"Modo?"

"Sorry, did Ah wake you up?"

"No, no... Come on in."

"Thanks..." Modo said as he closed the door behind him.

"Please, make yourself at home...!" She said while going briefly to her bedroom to tie her blonde hair into a bun.

Modo nodded back and looked around him. He spotted the field medic bag in one corner.

"You kept a souvenier from the war?" He mused.

"Oh, that... yeah, kinda did...I don't usually horder stuff but I carried that many years. It somehow just grew on me..." Aprilia talked while coming back to the main area again.

"Yeah, know what you mean..." Modo joked flexing his bionic arm. She only gave a warm smile and walked to him and touched his middle, stroking his stomach, the fabric of the Fighter tank top bringing up memories. He had get ridden of the vest but kept the tank top on. Modo stroked her hair, slipping gently a stray of hair behind her ear. They were gazing at each other. Aprilia put her arms around his middle, holding her head against his stomach, his scent filling her nose. Modo tilted her chin up softly and kissed her but then stopped and sat down on the couch.

"What's wrong?" Aprilia asked. Modo hunched, leaning on his elbows, hanging his head. He didn't know how to tell the woman he loved that he would have to leave again. To break his promise yet again. Aprilia sat down beside him, taking a hold of his palm.

"Modo?"

"Ah can't stay.." His voice was only a low whisper.

"Well, sure, it's getting late..."

"No, Ah mean... Ah have to leave. Be gone for some time..."

Aprilia looked at him, studing his face that was now so filled with pain that it hurt her to see it.

"What do you mean?".

"Something came up. Can't talked to you about it. It's better if you know nothing about it...It's for your own good, to keep you safe."

"Safe from whom?"

Modo was silent and she nodded back.

"Right, you can't tell me..." She sighed, feeling sorrowful. Modo gave her a careful look and shook his head while seeing her sad face.

"Look, this ain't right... Ah don't want to let you down time and time again... Ah don't want you to feel sad or anything. Ah want you to be happy, to enjoy your life. Do whatever it is that normal people do... Build a family. Maybe it's best if we're not together..." Modo's voice was hurt and sad.

Aprilia turned her face so their eyes met.

"Do you love me?"

"Ah do love you. That's why it hurts so much to see you sad."

"Love is many things, Modo...And sadness is one of them. It's life, things happen. But as long as love is the most powerful feeling it's all worth it. And I do love you, too Modo. We've been through so much, the war, the battlefields, the losses... Sometimes it felt that all the bad things were eating us alive, making us numb, bitter or angry... and it felt that it was better to be alone than with someone. So, at least one couldn't infect the other one with all the bad memories, the traumas... But last time you were visiting Mars, that was proved wrong. We are more powerful together than alone. We made it through, Modo. And if we made it through the hell the war was, we can make through anything, my love."

Modo had been looking at her the whole time. He gave a little chuckle and had to dry his eye.

"Oh, man...You're much stronger than me, darlin'..."

"You have to trust me. Ofcourse I would want to keep you here with me but I also knew what it would be like to date a soldier when we met. You've got your duties and I've got mine. But that doesn't mean we can't make this work. If we have love, that's enough..."

Modo cut her off with a kiss and she kissed him back. It first was sweet but it quickly started to be more passionate. After all, during the three years or so he had spent on Earth, they'd seen each other only a couple of times. It was a powerful experience to be united with the one you loved. With their touch, scent...And been a telepathic breed, while holding and kissing the one you loved, it was like diving into a pool of emotions - desire, passion, longing, love... He was crazy about her, had always been, ever since they'd met in the Headquarters. And she was right, their relationship had been through a lot. But they always seemed to end up together after everything, even after the sheer craziness of war. Aprilia broke their kiss and stroked his cheeks.

"Can we just decide that nothing'll break us up ever again?"

"Sounds good, darlin'." Modo smiled against her lips.

Aprilia kissed him again and then slowly started to kiss his cheeks, neck... Her hands slipping under his tank top as she caressed his muscled chest, sides and back... Modo lifted her first in his arms and then carefully laid her down on the couch. A tiny voice in the back of his head was reminding him that he had to meet with his bros soon. He broke the kiss reluctantly and only stroked her chin..

"Ah really can't stay too long. If they knew Ah was here... This all could put your life in danger..."

"Promise to come back?"

"That's a promise Ah've never broken and Ah tend to keep it that way, darlin'..." Modo gave her another kiss but then got up from the couch. He then remembered something.

"Damn, my stuff's still stored there in the basement of the new Research Center..."

"Not anymore, love..." Aprilia got up and went to pick up a large black plastic bag from the other room.

"I picked them up after you visited Mars the last time... Luckily I did since now all the old stuff from the Fighters are gone. I don't know who has them now..."

Modo opened up the bag and went through the remains of his belongings. It wasn't much but he did managed to find something that he needed at the moment. It was a deep blue, plain hoodie. He put it on so the only visible things left from his bionic arm were the steelfingers. The hoodie smelled a bit stuffy since it had been in the bag for several years but he thought a nice long desert ride would clear most of it. He looked at the plastic bag and thought to take it with him and maybe burn the stuff or hide it somewhere so they would not trace him to her. He gave Aprilia a look who now only leaned against the wall, her arms wrapped around her.

"Remember that you haven't seen me or heard from me, okay? Even better you can tell them that you don't even care..."

"Okay..." Aprilia nodded. Modo looked at her. This was all wrong. Why can't they just get a break? All he wanted to do was to hold her and stay here until the end of the time. He knew that keeping her safe was the main priority for now and that meant that he had to be as far from her as possible. He lifted her chin up carefully and they kissed the last time.

"Please be safe." Aprilia whispered.

Modo nodded back, stroking her cheek.

He really hoped that he and his bros were going to come back and he'd make sure that he did all he could to make things right, to see her again. At the moment it just felt that they weren't in charge of things. After he opened the door and carefully looked around him to make sure that no one was around to see him, he left the apartment.

x

x

Vinnie was sitting on his bike, his eyes staring at the little screen. He thought he'd try to contact Charley and see if the connection could be made from Mars to Earth, too. But he felt nervous, his fingers itching like they were going numb, his heartrate speeding up. Heck! How could this be so hard! He was after all the baddest mammajammer in the whole galaxy! It's only a few lines... But he still hesitated. _C'mon, don't be a wuss, tell her!_ He heard himself inside his head and he inhaled fast and then wrote a message...and sent! He let the air out from his lungs and relaxed a little. He looked at the screen where his sent text was glowing. Now it was there in the ether. No way to correct or delete it now. The ball was on her side of the lawn now, so to speak... Or, he hoped he hadn't kicked the ball over the fence. Vinnie was staring at the words and suddenly a whole new kind of nervousness attacked him. He relieved a desperate sigh. He had felt like this only one time before and that was when Harley was still around, during the war... He nearly startled as his mind had took a turn to the one woman he had ever loved...before Charley. He shook his head. Don't go crazy now. Harley's gone, no reason to think about ghosts...He decided that a nice bikeride across the dunes would calm his nerves and he stepped on the gas.


	7. Chapter 7: Under the Red Sand There's

_Thank you so much for the reviews again! I've been busy here but now managed to find the time to write a new chapter. Next chapter is already knocking my shoulder so I guess I'll be able to publish that a bit faster :) Also, I want to move on with the plot! So, in this chapter a familiar face is making a comeback, enjoy :)_

 _-SpaceFlora_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter seven**

 **Under the Red Sand There's a Place**

After driving over an hour into the desert, the bros had comen to the right place. The earth started to rumble and the red sand gave way to the building rising infront of the bros. The door was opened up but no one exited the building. The bros gave each other a look.

"I guess we're welcomed in, bros..." Throttle said and they stepped on their gases and drove inside. While inside they quickly stopped their bikes, opened up their visors and looked around them.

Modo gave a whistle and leaned on the forks of Lil' Hoss.

"An impressive shack..."

They were currently in a big hall that was filled with machines and computers, all lined against the walls.

"Welcome to my castle, rookies!" Stoker walked over and looked around him, looking pleased with what he had.

"What is this place, Stoker?" Throttle asked while getting up from his bike.

"It's' a cross between a home, a laboratory and a little home-security system for my peace of mind..."

"Looks like you've got some serious security risks at hand then..." Modo chuckled looking at the rows of cutting-edge computers.

"Well, you know, one gets a little paranoid while the state wants to get rid of you..." Stoker shrugged his shoulders and then pointed behind him.

"C'mon, I'll show you where you can sleep. It's still early and you look like you need a rest."

"Sounds good..." Vinnie yawned. None of the bros had slept during the night and they happily took a chance to get some sleep.

x

x

After many hours Throttle woke up in his room. Stoker had showed each of them a little room, where was only a bed, a desk, a little shelf on the wall and a VidCom. Stoker had told them that they could use the VidCom safely since it was untraceable but they still needed to be careful. Throttle opened the door and walked the hallway. It was dim but not because they obviously were under the ground but because there wasn't that much light installed in the hallways. He came into an open area, the big hall where the computers were now steadily humming around him. Unlike the hallway the big room was lit like it was daytime. Stoker was behind one computer, looking at a screen thoughtfully. Throttle cleared his throat to let him know he was in his presence and then walked over to him. Stoker nodded a hello as he carefully leaned back in his seat.

"What are we looking at?" Throttle asked with a raspy voice, still a bit dazed after only few hours of sleep, correcting the glasses, trying to make sense of the image infront of him.

"What's that?" He asked again.

"Sand." Stoker replied and got a raised eyebrow from the tan furred mouse.

"Okay. And why are we looking at sand?"

"That is a close-up image of one of the locations I think the state has a secret base in. Hidden under the sand as well. I've tried to locate potential places where our comrades could be... After investigating and surveiling months I came across this place. I've seen big vehicles with darkened windows driving towards this area and tried to follow them a few times but they just vanished into thin air after they came around this place. I didn't want to get too close, who knows what they've got there hidden under the sand..."

"How big is the area?" Throttle asked now noticing the coordinates in the screen, silently trying to figure out where this place was.

"A few hundred metres. I mean, how wide it spreads out under the sand I don't know..."

"Quite difficult to just go there and search the area, there aren't any hiding places. We'd be there out in the open..."

"Yup."

Throttle turned his look to Stoker.

"But that's what you want us to do, right?"

Stoker was to answer to him but they heard footsteps and Modo came into the hall yawning and stretching. He looked around and saw them. Rubbing his eye tiredly he walked near them and sat behind a long wooden table.

"What are you plotting here...?" He asked leaning his head to his palm, looking uninterestedly at the screen.

"Stoker has found a possible secret base..."

"Looks like sand to me..."

"It's under the sand, obviously..."

"What is this with the sand, man..." Vinnie walked in, too, having heard of the conversation.

"How come everything's buried beneath the sand nowadays...Are we cave mice or moles... " He chuckled and then sat down beside Modo.

"So, there's a secret base, let's just go there and bomb the place..." Vinnie said waving his hand nonchalantly.

"We want our brothers alive, Vincent..." Throttle muttered back.

"Yes, well, uh... I admit there are a few holes in that strategy..." Vinnie answered sheepishly.

Stoker rised up from his seat and walked over to one steel door.

"Well, since we're aiming for a battle, I'll have something here, that'll help us..." And he pushed the button and the door slid aside revealing a clean garage. The bros quickly joined him and looked around, their jaws dropped. There were few shiny black bikes inside and all the tools one could dream of.

"Oh, mommah..." Modo's eye grew bigger.

"Aaawooooo! That's more like it, grand pa! Look at all these beautiful babies...!" Vinnie excitedly looked at the bike parts including bike weapons stacked on a shelf.

"Where did you get all these...? This garage...the computers... These are not cheap nor even available in your local market, coach..." Throttle talked and then turned to Stoker who only had a wry smile on his face. Throttle knew that look, Stoker always had a few cards on his sleeve.

"Well, I've got my little helpers. You know the New Research Centre, right? There are a few ex-Fighters now working there, developing new technology alongside the engineers. Like your nephew..."Stoker gave Modo a meaningful look.

"Yeah, Ah heard he's working there but this..." Modo looked around.

"...is something else..."

"Yeah, they've got some serious skills down there."

"But they're working for the government and for the industries? I'm sure helping the state's most wanted is not on their official task list." Throttle asked.

"Yeah sure, but there are some projects the government doesn't know about. Some inventions could be dangerous if it gets into wrong hands."

"Like what?"

"For example, some people could be extremely interested in devices that'll make it easy for them to spy on their citizens, to know everything about them and that way having a great control over them. Also in the medical wing they're trying to get a better understanding of our own bodies, specially these beauties..." Stoker tapped his antennae.

"You mean...Mind control?"

"Yup. They're finally learning things about our most precious part of our bodies, how it actually works and all... In the future it could be that the researcher could build a machine based on the capabilities of the antennae."

"Sounds risky..." Throttle wondered.

"But science is moving fast. I agree that it's not good idea to even play with some things...But then again, if you don't do it, someone else will. And the other party might not be having so noble purposes on their mind...You at least have to be in the same line with the others in understanding the science and the biology behind it."

The bros were silent for awhile. Stoker clapped his hands together to sort of wake them up from their dumbfoundness.

"But anyway, I get some goodies from those people every once in a while... Test samples, if you wish."

"You don't have any help down here?" Throttle asked.

"I do, as a matter of fact..." Stoker had that wry smile on again. They started to hear footsteps coming towards them.

"I'm having the best wrench jockey around this side of the asteroid belt... Luckily I sort of bumped into her out here in the desert..."

The bros turned their heads towards the dim hallway and soon they could recognize the person standing in front of them.

"Harley?" Vinnie's voice was shaky as his eyes grew bigger.

Harley crossed her arms and smirked at the bros.

"Well, isn't it my favourite macho trio..." She then opened her mouth, speaking with that husky sensual voice of hers.

x

x

Charley was repairing a bike. She dropped the tool she was using and then wiped sweat off her forehead and sighed. Damn it. Her mind was somewhere else. On Mars to be precise. Ever since the guys had left she had felt distracted. Sure she didn't want them to know that or to be worried about her. After all, this was to happen anyway, the guys would return to their home and she would stay here on Earth. She had knew that all along and so had the guys, too. But she did really miss her three lummocks. She didn't know how much she would even miss that racket they always made and that heavy music. A smile curled around her lips when she started to think about them and one in particular. Vinnie... _You were the most annoying person I've ever met but now I don't seem to stop thinking about you._ She sighed again and sat down on a bench. She looked at the sky outside. This was lunatic. She's usually rational human being and this was not rational. Sure she had felt the sparks between her and the white furred martian a long time but as a sensible woman she had decided that it wouldn't work. And how could it? They lived on entirely different planets! But still... The message he had sent her only few hours ago... It had left her heart pounding, and she hadn't been able to sleep at all. Why had you done that, Vin? Why now after everything? Now that you're gone? She shook her head. _I love you too, Vinnie._

x

x

"We thought we had lost you..." Modo shook his head while looking into Harley's eyes. They were all sitting around the long wooden table in the big hall.

"I thought that it was the end for me, too... For a long time. Mace took me to the rats and they held me as a prisoner." Harley gave a deep sigh as she looked into her tea mug.

"But in the end I managed to escape...Although it took time. I ended up lost in the desert for over a week. I was in pretty bad shape until suddenly I heard the best voice in the world...The sound of the Freedom Fighter's motorcycle. Man, I thought it was only a hallucination. I didn't even realize Stoker had lifted me up and taken me here on his bike. Must've been unconcious." She then gave Stoker a warm smile and he returned it, nodding.

"Yes, it's a miracle you survived these hard deserts... There are plenty of dangerous people and wild life around here that could've hurt you or even killed you. Sand Raiders, rats, sabre squids... " Stoker talked.

"Yeah, and one could easily wander weeks out there without seeing any habitat..." Modo wondered.

"Well, we all survived...Everything. But for what? We're hiding from our own government." Harley spoke crossing her arms, nearly spitting the last word out. Vinnie was still staring at her in disbelief, he hadn't spoken a word after they had come to sit beside the table. Throttle carefully studied his white furred friend's expression but then cleared his throat.

"So, you think it's all true, what Stoker thinks?"

"I have no doubt about it. And while I was a prisoner of the rats, I heard rumours... First they were all about the war ending and the Plutarkians leaving which made me even more determinated to get myself out of there, to finally see free Mars and maybe have a life, a normal life. To enjoy my life. But then I started to hear these rumours about the new government which were really interested in the Freedom Fighters... And heard that they even hunted them down and put them in jail. Or people starting to go on missing. It was all confusing. The rats thought that maybe they could get some money out of me if they turned me in and brought to the Cave Mouse Territory...One night I managed to escape while they were tansporting me through the desert. I knew it was a risk to try to survive the desert but I figured I would rather die than to be captured by another traitor government."

"Glad to see you're doing well, Harley. After all these years." Throttle gave her a look and she nodded back, looking now a bit sad.

"Yes, you too. I heard about your ship crashing on Earth. I'm relieved you guys are okay and back here on Mars!" She then turned her look on Vinnie who only gave a shy smile back but he had troubles to look her into those beautiful eyes. So many memories... And now after everything. It felt surreal, it was downright absurd to see her sitting there across to him.

x

x

"Mommah?" Modo started as the image of his grey furred mommah appeared on the screen of the VidCom.

"Modo? Are you okay, dear? Aprilia contacted me that you had to leave, she didn't know where and that made me worried..."

"Yes, there came a little bump on the road... But don't worry, mommah, we'll be fine." Modo scratched the back of his head.

"Ah'm your mother, Ah'll always be worried about you, Modo... Hopefully you're not in a great danger. You just got back to Mars, Ah was thinking to make you pancakes tomorrow and all..."

"Ah guess Ah'll have to take a rain check on that..." He smiled back, a bit tiredly. His mother coughed a few times and then sneezed into a colourful handkerchief.

"Are you well, Mommah?"

"Yes, yes... Just flu..."

"You should not work too hard..."

"Oh, nonsense, nothing wrong with me! There's still power in these old arms..."

"Ah'm just concerned, Mommah...You know, Ah feel bad Ah can't be there to help you out with things..."

"Oh, don't be silly, you know how Ah hate people fussing over me...Ah'm in perfectly good shape!"

Modo wasn't that convinced but decided to drop it. After all, nothing could ever change her mind. She had always been stubborn and proud to be able to raise her two kids alone and work the same time. She always helped others and sometimes Modo thought she did too much and she needed to take care of herself but she had always just waved off his concerns. Real power-house she was but she was getting older. Mommah sighed then.

"Poor Aprilia, she sounded so worried about you, too..."

"She did?" Modo asked a concern rising even more in his chest.

"Ah'll keep my old eyes on her, don't worry, sweetie. Ah even told her that she could come here or call me anytime she needed. After all, she's family. Who knows maybe someday you'll make your old Mommah happy and marry her. She's such a sweet girl."

Modo gave a chuckle.

"Yeah, Ah know...Listen, Ah can't talk long but just wanted you to know that Ah'm fine. Ah will call you later, okay?"

"Okay. But promise me to be safe out there, you hear me boy?"

"Ah will, Mommah. Take care." Modo ended the call and with a deep sigh he stood up and ran his palms over his face but then left his room.


	8. Chapter 8: Friends and Foes

_Hi, guys! I told you that the next chapter will come out faster! And I can't thank you enough for your reviews, they give me energy to write! It's also nice to read the stories that you've been writing as well. Keep up the good work you all! Seeing you writing and updating keeps me motivated as well!_

 _So, this turned out to be quite a long chapter but I needed to get many things rolling in this one. Also, there is a little bit of history and geography included here, as well. Some bits of that information I might use later in the story..._

 _I'm well aware there might be many things that doesn't add up with the original storyline/timeline but let's face it, that timeline in the series is sometimes a bit of a mess, too! But that only leaves room for us fan fic writers to add things. So, don't skewer me if there are some things that won't match up with the original timeline!_

 _Please enjoy and tell me what you guys think!_

 _-SpaceFlora_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Eight**

 **Friends and Foes**

Next morning Carbine was driving her bike towards the Army Base. She noticed a truck exiting the Base with darkened windows, it was not their own model. She wondered about this and slowed down while the truck drove past her. She looked behind her but then gassed up to the gate. She opened up the visor of her helmet and the guard inside the little booth immidiatly gave her an army salute.

"Who were those guys driving the truck?" She demanded to know. The soldier checked from the computer screen and then turned his look to her again.

"They had the government's pass, General..."

"Were they transporting something?"

"Can't say, General, with that kind of a pass we can't search the car..." The guard stuttered a bit but Carbine showed him to be at ease. She knew the answer already, the Army works for the government and there for if the government wanted they could visit the Army Base as they pleased and no one needed to know the reasons behind it or even search them. She started her bike again and drove inside the Base. After seeing Throttle, after what he had told her... She didn't know what was going on but she didn't have a good feeling about this at all and been a high-ranking officer she was not used to feel this insecure. She had to start digging the answers...

x

x

Throttle was studying the map of Mars. More precisely he was studying the deserts outside the Cave Mice Territory. The territory itself consisted of a large area that included also the largest mountain on Mars, the Olympus Mons, which was an un-active volcano. It was also considered to be a holy place since the Cave Mice' ancestors believed that the gods lived on top of that mountain and worshipped it back in the days. Even though nowadays the mice weren't that religious anymore, most Cave Mice were on the alert towards the colossal mountain. The Cave Mice Territory was fairly big and it would take nearly a day to ride from one border to the other. Their only big city, Brimstone City, was close to the Olympus Mons. After the Plutarkian war however the city was badly in ruins even though they'd started to rebuild it. Outside the borders the deserts continued all around them and those were considered to be no man's land, a hostile territory where the laws didn't really apply.

At the moment, they were actually situated outside the Cave Mice Territory, two hours away from Brimstone City, and about 30 minutes' bike ride across the no man's land toward the North. Stoker had thought that under these circumstances, it would be best if he built his Base outside the Cave Mice borders. It was risky to be out here in the desert but that's why it was crucial to have the structure under the sand, hidden.

Throttle calculated something and made some notes. He ran his pen across the map that was basically all red and showed only a few landmarks. The deserts in the no man's land were not mapped properly. For every Martian it was crucial to learn even some basic navigation skills. Without some basic knowlegde, it could be lethal to wander and get lost in the deserts even if it were inside their own borders. Luckily nowadays their bikes also had the navigation systems. But, even the most experienced navigators had to be careful while been out there, because of a few magnetic spots that messed with the compasses and the computers.

Stoker walked to Throttle and leaned over the table to study the map also.

"You study the area around the government's secret base?"

"Yes."

"What's this?" Stoker asked and pointed the circle Throttle had drawn near the secret base' area.

"Well, I tried to find information about all the magnetic spots around that area. First I didn't find anything but then in a few old antic journals found from the archives in online, I found out that there could be one right there near the secret base..."

"Oh? I didn't get any signals of that while I was driving around the area..."

"It's not necessarily even real...I read that these magnetic spot around the area could change locations, appearing in one place and then disappearing again..."

Stoker looked thoughtful.

"Well, we must keep that in mind. Even if it was only a legend... Good work, soldier." Stoker tapped Throttle on his back.

"How's my niece doing?" He then asked Throttle.

"You're not having family meals?" Throttle talked back still studying the map.

"Well, I'm not excactly in favour in my family, fancy that... Carbine's an exception, of course. I've always liked her and I guess she puts up with me, too. I come from a long lineage of army soldiers...I'm guessing that establishing a rival team wasn't that popular thing to do.."

"Well... to answer your question... I guess she's fine."

"You guess?" Stoker gave Throttle a look but then held his hands up.

"Okay, don't wanna know the details. Love's a messy business."

Throttle only gave a smile back and found out his thoughts were beginning to linger towards her lady with black hair.

x

x

Vinnie was loading the ammos to his bike, giving Harley a look every once and awhile. She was working with the black bikes, knelt down beside them and unscrewing a few bolts. Vinnie was so concentrated on looking at her figure that he dropped some ammos on the floor. Harley turned her head and smirked at him.

"Careful with the firepower, love..."

"Yeah, yeah...sure..." Vinnie stuttered and nodded and started to collect the ammos from the floor again. Why was he so nervous. He was acting stupid, not been able to say anything sensible, dropping things...He felt clumsy and awkward. But he had to admit that Harley had had an impact like that on him always.

"So...How's life...? Having anyone special...?" Harley decided to break the ice and start having a some kind of conversation.

"I...uh...yes...well, it's a bit complicated..." Vinnie answered and Harley gave him a look.

"Oh? How so?" Her voice rolled like a purr.

"Well, we sort of live in different areas..."

"A long-distance relationship? "

"You could say that..." Vinnie talked but then got nervous again. Charley wasn't exactly his girlfriend but he had to say something. He couldn't just act like there was no lady in his life, right? There was a special someone, he hadn't actually lied to her. For some reason he didn't want to talk about it either, that area in his mind was so blurry and wobbly. Nothing seemed stable at the moment, it was like everything was spinning around him and he had to admit he started to feel a bit dizzy.

"And you...?" He started carefully.

"Are you back with Stoker...?"

"Stoker?" Harley repeated with a laugh. She gave Vinnie a look.

"It didn't work the last time and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work this time either...No, we're only good friends." She played with the tool in her hand and then turned around to repair the bike again. Vinnie stared at her back, letting his eyes wander and just as his eyes were about to settle onto her fine behind he felt a slap on the back of his head.

"Autch!" He made a cry and turned around to see Modo who crossed his arms over his wide chest.

"Hey, what gives...?!" Vinnie asked rubbing the sore spot on his head, looking a bit irritated.

"If your eyes didn't wander so much you shouldda seen that one coming..." Modo only glared back.

Harley gave them a quick look and went to wash her hands.

"Hey, Big Guy, how's your arm doing nowadays?"

"It's fine, thanks, Harley-ma'am."

"Yeah? Well, good. I don't want to see it causing any infections or something... Although I'm sure you're having your own nurse to take care of you..." Harley gave Modo a wink and he just blushed a little and turned to look at the different little gadgets on one shelf.

"How long have you been back?" Modo asked.

"Well, a few months... Time goes by so quickly even though it can wear you down sometimes, living down here, not seeing anyone...It's not considered safe to go out during the daytime so one doesn't get to see the sun so often. You'll get used to it, though." Harley talked while wiping her hands dry with a little towel.

Suddenly a loud buzzer started to ring and they all rushed to the big hall where Throttle and Stoker already were.

"There's an intruder somewhere near the base.." Stoker said and opened up one monitor and then with a few clicks of the buttons the image from outside got zoomed in to one dark shape that was moving fast towards them. Stoker zoomed in more and now they could see someone riding what appeared to be a motorcycle.

"It's time to play a little game called "Friend or Foe"... Stoker muttered, flashing a smile and then went to another computer and started to push the buttons. The bros and Harley kept on looking at the screen and soon saw that the place around the intruder was bombed. They turned their heads towards Stoker.

"What are you doing?!" Throttle raised his voice.

"Defending, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"And if that biker is a friend?!" Harley asked, looking at the screen suddenly feeling her heart thumping a bit faster.

"All my friends know how to defend themselves..." Stoker pushed more buttons and then saw the biker doing familiar moves while dodging the bombing. Stoker gave a smile and then went near the door and ordered the building to rise up.

"He's one of us. He's a Fighter."

"Ah somehow feel there ought to be a better way to tell..." Modo muttered while they felt a slight movement as the building was rising over the sand dunes. It was still quite steady inside. Stoker opened the door and as soon as the door was opened enough for one to drive in, a bike slid inside and then stopped. The biker took away his helmet and started to laugh excitedly.

"Wow, did you see that, Uncle Modo?! The good ol' dodge 'n' duck no. 9!"

"Rimfire!" Modo came to hug his nephew and patted him on the back. He was now fully grown and was now standing as tall as Throttle. His brown hair with a blonde strike was a bit messy after having the helmet on.

"I heard that you've come back, Uncle Modo!"

"Well, next time call first...The old man was trying to put holes in you..." Modo then turned to give Stoker a warning look, his eye blinking slightly with red light. Stoker came to pat Rimfire on the back as well.

"Like I said, all my friends know how to defend themselves. And that wasn't even an attack, you should see when I really start to throw some bombs...! Anyway, how's the nerd stuff coming along, kid?"

"That's actually the reason I had to come here to see you without having time to warn you guys first...I come straight from the Research Center." Rimfire took his backbag off and took something heavy that was wrapped in a towel. He went to put it on the wooden table and started to unwrap it. Inside there was a device made of steel and electrical components and had a few antennae sticking outside. Stoker studied it while the young man was carefully exposing the weird looking thing.

"Where did you get this?" Stoker asked but then when it started to dawn on him what the device was he defined the question.

"How did you get this?"

"Well..." Rimfire's smile faded away a bit, looking like he suddenly realized something himself and now looked a bit ashamed.

"I sort of stole it..."

"How can you sort of steal something...? From whom?" Modo asked concerned.

Rimfire felt all the eyes on him as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"From the government." He then shyly answered. There was a silence.

"You stole it from the government?" Stoker asked and then turned to look at the device again.

"Well, I had to, I had no choice! They would've used it if I hadn't steal it!" Rimfire started to defend himself.

"Okay, can someone explain to the ones who didn't go to nerd schools what the heck is that thing?" Vinnie asked pointing at the device. Stoker gave Rimfire a look.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, kid, but that is the artifical mind-control machine..."

Throttle cleared his throat.

"You mean to say that what we have here is the machine that can do everything that the most advanced Martian mind controlers can do with their real antennae?"

"Yeah, and what makes it even more powerful is that it can be used for a big mass of people the same time. An engineer and a few people with the medical background made it in secret down at the Research Center. The government got a whiff of it and it was to be tested today in a secret location. I've got a high-security pass down at the Center and I found it and well, I sort of just acted... I knew I had to take it to some place safe..."

"You have the high-security pass down there at the Center?" Stoker asked in-between. A sheepish smile crossed Rimfire's face.

"Well, not really no, but I know my way around the computers, hacking into the security data isn't that much of an effort..."

"But surely they've got an extra device there?" Throttle asked but Rimfire shook his head.

"The engineer that made the calculations and the plans has disappeared along with the blueprints. No one knows where he is. He had been studying this project many years and well, he's the only one who was so ahead of the game that he actually got to build a prototype..." Rimfire talked.

"So if there's no blueprints left and there's no extra-device... I guess this is quite valuable piece of machinery we've got here..?" Throttle asked. Rimfire nodded and looked around the Martian mice now gathered around the device.

"I'm in a big trouble, right...?" Rimfire then sighed and met Modo's look.

"You're not gonna be elected as a worker of the month, that's for sure..." His uncle scratched his chin but then gave a sigh.

"Look, you better call your mother and tell that you're alright and safe... You don't want her to be worried, do you?"

Rimfire nodded and left the table.

"Oh, and you stay here, got that?" Stoker raised his voice and the young man turned around.

"By now they surely know who stole this baby and you'll be on their blacklist, too. It's too dangerous for you to left this base"

Rimfire looked down, nodded again and left to find a VidCom.

Stoker leaned over the table.

"Well, things got a bit more complicated. We've got our comrades to save, a secret base to crash, the government's after us and we're holding in our hands the greatest threat the Mars has ever seen."

"Aaaawooooo! Now that's how I spell life!" Vinnie banged his fist againt the table.

x

x

Aprilia was treating a patient down at the local healthcare centre. When she wasn't at the New Research Center trying to perfect the cure for the fertility problems with a tiny group of medical researchers, she was working as a doctor, treating many women a day who were suffering from that condition. She closed the door after the day's last patient and walked to her desk in her doctor's coat and knee-short simple dress.

She opened the black box infront of her that had many syringes inside, all packed with the cure and ready to shoot. She took one syringe and marvelled it against the light. It was sort of a miracle that in such a tiny portion of liquid was contained all what it took for a female body to start producing working ova again which could then receive the sperm. After their bodies were attacked by the polluted water the Plutarkians had masterminded the majority of the women were producing ova that somehow rejected the sperm. She observed the liquid inside. Well, it wasn't exactly a miracle cure since it worked only for about half of the women. It needed to be perfected still, but she and her fellow medical researchers weren't exactly sure how.

She put the syringe down and looked out of the little window and let her mind wander. She hoped Modo was okay. After he had left her place she hadn't heard anything from him. Well, she had quite used to the fact that she had to live in a bit of a uncertainty when it came to her lovelife. Many years the war was like the third party in their relationship, demanding their time, energy and concentration. Sometimes it went days and weeks before she could really hear anything from him. Ofcourse Modo had always tried to keep her not getting worried and tried to contact her as soon as possible if he had to leave for a mission and fight far away but sometimes it just wasn't possible. Modo hadn't really liked the fact she served as a field medic during the war. He knew it put her also in great danger but she didn't care. She was born to help others and leaving men and women out there on the battlefields injured was not an option for her.

She remembered the first time she had seen him at the Headquarters. At the age of 20, he had been already a first-class Fighter and she had just began working as a field medic. She had heard about the Freedom Fighters and wanted to join their side. After one of the battles she had gone there to patch up the Fighters and there she had seen this impressive looking, tall, young man, his fur the colour of ash grey. When he had turned his look on her the first time it was like someone stealing her breath. He had the most intense look she had ever seen, his eyes were penetrating into her own big dark eyes. She had been speechless for a couple of seconds, leaving room for him to snicker at her, joking about something. She had laughed back while trying to do her duty and treat his wounds on his ear and shoulder. She had told him to take his shirt and vest away and he had stood up again and taken the asked pieces of clothing away, revealing his well-built wide chest and strong arms. He had sat down again and she had cleaned the wounds and then started to roll the gauze around his shoulder. They were talking about stuff that seemed to her quite trivial but some time after that she had realised that in order to stay sane, it was important for the soldiers to try to keep their minds clear and not to dwell on all the horrible things happening all around them. If it meant that they needed to talk about the weather and the day's field meals then so be it. While the Fighters were returning to the battlefield Modo had changed into a new shirt that wasn't covered in blood and put on his vest. He had turned his look on her and raising an eyebrow he had told her that hopefully they'll see again to which she had replied that well, it would take for him to get injured again which she didn't want to happen though... He had only flashed a charming smile and told her that for those beautiful eyes he wouldn't mind taking a few bullets. They had both laughed at the lame pick-up line and he had just waved his hand, thanking her for her patching skills and left.

Her remembrance was interrupted while she heard a knock on the door. Slightly yawning she got up and walked to the door. As she opened it a man forced himself inside the room and placed his hand over her mouth while pushing the door close behind him. She tried to free herself from his grip but the male mouse was way bigger and stronger than her and only pushed her against the wall.

"Shh... Quiet, doc...And you'll not get hurt..."

Aprilia looked into the man's eyes, his palm covering her mouth.

"You're lucky, you get to choose what shortly happens to you, doc... You tell me the truth, and I'll let you go unharmed. If you lie, well, then your luck has run out and we'll just have to decide what to do with you, cutie... " The man talked with a low voice and let his other hand slide under her dress, touching her thigh. Aprilia tried to shout behind the hand but the man laughed.

"Behave, remember, and you'll not get hurt...I'm a man of my words, doc. Got that?"

Aprilia nodded, her big eyes revealing her panic. The man smiled with a grin.

"It's a simple yes and no-game. Now, have you seen this man...?" The man took a black and white photo of Modo that was clearly taken many years ago. It looked like someone had been spying the Freedom Fighters during the war and the photo was a bit blurry. Modo had a rifle on his hand and was dressed up in the Freedom Fighters' clothes. He still had both of his arms and eyes left.

Aprilia shook her head.

"No? Sure? Well, that's weird since according to some data he came to pay you a visit down at the Research Center just a while ago..."

Aprilia tried to say something but ofcourse it wasn't to be heard behind the hand. The man gave her a stern look.

"I will let you talk, if you promise not to scream...The screams would be useless though, easily stopped." The man took a knife and started to run the blade across her neck and down to her breast, just barely touching her skin but still sending her the chills down her spine. Aprilia closed her eyes but then raised her look on him again and nodded. The man released his hand and Aprilia gasped for air a bit.

"So? Where is he?" The man asked again.

"I don't know where. He came to see me but I told him we're over..." Aprilia told him, looking straight into the man's eyes who tried to determine whether she was lying or not.

"Really...? You wouldn't lie to me, now would you...? 'Cause you've got no idea who you're playing with, doc..."

"I told him I didn't wanna see him ever again...! Now, I don't know where he is and I don't care!"

The man nodded but then quickly grabbed her by her throat.

"You're sure...? You did have many buddies there at the Fighter's Headquarters..."

"I served only as a medic...I didn't care about the ideologies..." She got to say in his grip. The man tightened his grip and it was hard for her to breath.

"Last chance, lady...To tell the truth."

A tear fell over her cheek.

"Where are they?!"

"I don't know!" She used all her strength to raise her voice while he was strangling her throat. The man nodded and then looked at the door and her again.

"I'm gonna leave now... But I'm warning you, if I learn out that you've lied to me... I'll come back here and reclaim my promises. No one plays with us without the consequences."

The man let her go and then quickly left the room. Aprilia fell on the floor and started to gasp for air, partly because he had disabled her to breathe properly for so long and partly because the adrenaline started to kick in. She looked at her hands that were shaking and more tears started to run down her cheeks.

x

x

" _This is Alpha, I'm listening."_

" _Blue Eagle here... The mind-control machine was stolen by a former Fighter today."_

" _It was stolen? How could that happen?! Who's responsible of letting that machine go out of sight?!"_

" _It all happened really quickly... No one shouldn't have had an access to that security level!"_

" _It was supposed to bring to test today at the Desert Base! I knew those Fighters should've all just been wiped out! They're destroying the plans! They always have to intervene!"_

" _Agreed. It's time to amp up. We picked up more fire power from the Army Base. We're more than ready to encounter those rebel rats and smoke them out of their hiding holes!"_

" _Well, we still don't know where to look for them. I've had many units looking for them in vain... I'm thinking that if we can't go to them, then they'll just have to come to us. I paied the doctor a visit but she said she doesn't know where this Modo and his buddies are hiding..."_

" _You think she's telling the truth...?"_

" _I think she doesn't know where they are but that doesn't mean that she's not capable of leading us to them...After my little visit she'll surely try to contact them and heros as they like to be they can't resist a damsel in distress..."_

" _You're thinking of usíng her as a bait? I've heard that these are the cream of the crop of the Freedom Fighters, they'll not gonna fall on any easy tricks. They've got the experience and the skills..."_

" _Yes, but their desire to be the good guys should work as their downfall...I want a unit to shadow the doctor and report on her every move. Sooner or later she'll lead us to them or them to us."_


	9. Chapter 9: Don't Want to be

_Okay, so, I still don't own the Biker mice, I thought I should just point that out again. The original characters belong to whoever owns the Biker Mice from Mars' rights at the moment. I do however own the characters I've invented..._

 _I was writing one long chapter but then decided to divide it into two chapters, so here's the first one... Mainly it's about the girls, Aprilia, Carbine and Harley. There's not so much of conversation in this chapter, I mostly wanted to get into the ladies' heads and think what they were going through. Please enjoy and please leave a review! Like always, I'm eager to know what you guys think about this story!_

 _-SpaceFlora_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Nine**

 **Don't Want to be a Damsel in Distress**

Aprilia was cursing to herself while walking the aisles at the healthcare centre. She was nearly shaking in anger, her look shooting fireballs and people gladly gave her way while she walked by. Most people thought her as this sweet little mouse with the blonde hair and big dark eyes to match that image, but she had a line and once that line was crossed she would not be messed with. She was angry that it all had happened. She was angry that that stranger had been able to scare her like that, that he had seen her crying. That bloody rat...

She was disgusted with men who thought it was somehow badass to scare the women, who already were half their sizes and wouldn't have the strength to fight back anyway. The Cave Mouse males were physically much bigger and stronger than the females, only a coward of a male would try to harass a woman like that. A deep loathe against the stranger, who had forced himself into her office earlier, grew stronger. But still, after all the anger inside her, she tried to think clearly and tried to stay collected and calm. _Calm down now, girl_. _Get your act together. This is not the time to make hasty decisions..._

While taking a turn towards the outdoors, she bumped into Primer who had her nurse uniform on. She had been working at the healthcare centre for some time now.

"Ouch, hey...Aprilia?" Primer said and then saw the female's red eyes which she tried to hide under her blonde hair.

"Primer? Oh, hi...I'm sorry I'm in a bit of a hurry...Talk to you later...!" Aprilia gave a quick forced smile and continued her rapid walking. Primer looked baffled and just looked after his uncle's sweetheart who kept on pacing towards the entrence of the centre.

"Wait! Aprilia!" She shouted after her but she was gone.

Aprilia put on her jacket while coming outside. She looked around her. Nothing unusual was going on around that area. She knew that there could be people tailing her, maybe it wasn't so smart to walk alone but she had no choice, she didn't have a bike nor any other kind of a vehicle. She picked up the pace. She was thinking where to go and what to do next. She couldn't go home, there surely could be people ready for her return. She was thinking hard. She didn't exactly have family left, her parents had died a long ago and her sister lived far away. Maybe she could go to Modo's mommah who had told her that she would be welcomed there anytime. But that would maybe put his mommah in danger, too, and she didn't want that.

To whom that man was working for? _"...you've got no idea who you're playing with, doc...",_ his words echoed in her head. Modo had told her that they needed to go away for awhile but he had refused to tell her who were after them. That piece of information surely would've come handy right now, so she could atleast know who she was running away from. What kind of a danger the Fighters were in? The look Modo had had when he had visited her place... Something horrible had happened. She just wished she knew what it was. Suddenly she realized that the tears had started to run down her cheeks again. Bloody hell! Now it was not the time to weep! Why she had to be like this! She wiped the tears away. _"You're much stronger than me, darlin'."_ She remembered Modo saying to her. She gave a little bitter sweet laughter. Right. Look how strong she was now. Crying like some scared little girl. But she couldn't help it, she felt helpless. She hurried the streets and every once and awhile looked behind her to see if someone was following her.

Maybe she should contact Modo and warn them... Then it hit her that that was exactly what the enemy wanted, that she'll lead them to the Fighters. She was not going to do that, who knows what would happen... Well, actually she knew exactly what would happen if she contacted the guys and told them what had happened. Modo would flip and if the guys didn't knock him out he would come to her resque and that way these bad guys would catch them or tail them back to their hide-out. She knew she had to stay smart about this. Gods know, the guys never were, they never thought things through. That's why they got hurt so often. She had had a front seat to witness some of the stupid stunts they'd done during the war. The guys had been patched up so many times she hadn't even bothered to count. Behind every great Fighter there's always a great medic...

She hoped that the guys were okay, where ever they were at the moment. She took a deep breathe. That stranger along with the ones he represented were going to be disappointed, she was not going to be used as a bait. She had to disappear for awhile but first she had to make a quick phone call...

x

x

Carbine was going through the Army's classified material in her computer. As a General she had an access to all the classified cases but it seemed that there weren't anything in there that would be connected to this case Throttle had been talking about. Well, he hadn't told much but she was smart enough to know that if he couldn't tell about it to her then it was something very serious. Not that she was even assuming there would be found anything from the Army archives, she had never heard of the Army having an investigation on the Fighters. They had had other things to think about during the war, mainly keeping their planet safe. And even though many army soldiers were annoyed by the Fighters who always interfiered with things they still had known that they were all fighting against the same enemy. Well, nearly. The Fighters had exposed the traitor government from whom the Army was taking orders at that time. It had been slightly humiliating to the Army but it was all in the past. She started to feel that it was pointless to go through the archives, but right now, she didn't really know where else to start looking for.

She gave a sigh while going through the endless list of material, while leaning her head against her palm. After half an hour search she came across a file that was named "Case 18376: Evidence on the Resistance Group during the Plutarkian War." She raised her eyebrow and clicked the casefile. There were text files but also hundreds of photos. Carbine started to go through the photos one by one her jaw slightly dropping. There were black and white photos of the alledged members of the Fighters, taken during the war, many years ago. She knew some of the Fighters by their looks although didn't know their names. After a few photos she started to find more familiar faces though... She stopped on one photo and stared at it. Throttle was there easily recognizable, in his long hair, his bandana around his neck, standing his arms crossed talking to someone. She shook her head and continued. There were photos including all of them: Throttle, Vinnie, Modo and Stoker, hanging out with their comrades, holding weapons, dressed in the Fighters' clothes. She knew those photos were going to be powerful evidence if the state ever decided to charge the Fighters...Because at the moment there weren't exactly any proofs what the Fighters had done during the war, only rumours. You couldn't convict people based on some hearsays. But here there were good images on many of them, holding weapons and on Mars only the Army had the permission to carry guns, not to mention bombs. In the eyes of the law, the Fighters were a group of radicalized civilians who had been violating the gun rules. She had kind of hoped that the new government would just turn a blind eye on the Fighters and what they had been represented and what they had done and give the planet a fresh start. After all the last government had been full of traitors and the Fighters had done all of them a favour while showing the government's true colours even if it had been done outlaw-style.

She didn't know who had been running the investigation or who had been taken the photos, it almost looked like the photos were taken in plain sight and not from a hide-out. Maybe she should delete them all? She tried to open the text files but suddenly her computer made a sound and a little window popped open in the screen. "Warning. You're not authorized to read these files." And then her computer crashed. She gave the machine a good hit on its' side but ofcourse it remained silent. She was completely baffled. Not-authorized? She was a General for gods' sake! If she wasn't authorized to go through those files then who was? Then her computer beeped and started to hum again and slowly opened up. She logged into it and searched the file again but saw that it wasn't there anymore. Great. She wondered where the files had gone. She hadn't deleted them just yet but clearly someone had done that for her. She was so deep in her thoughts that her phone ringing by the desk made her startle a little. She cleared her throat and answered the phone.

"General Carbine."

The phone line was silent although clearly someone was on the other end.

"Who's this? Answer right now! I don't have time to play games!"

The line remained silent for a few seconds before she heard a click and the call was hung up. She gave the phone a look but then put it on its' place. That was odd. Was the call somehow connected to the fact that she was going through those files and now the files are gone? Was it a coincidence? She didn't know. But she did know that she had possibly put her nose into something that she shouldn't have.

She left her room. If someone tried to scare her they got it all wrong. She was not to be played with. She had been through a lot of hell to get where she was now. If they thought one prank caller would stop her then they ought to think again. She knew now that something was really off and this made her even more determinate to search the answers. She quickly stepped down the stairs and went to the big hall, where they kept their personal vehicles. She put on her helmet and started her bike. She knew now exactly where to start digging some answers.

She was gunning down the Martian deserts towards Brimstone while her cellphone suddenly started to ring.

"Yes?" She pressed a button on the side of her helmet, allowing her to talk hands-free while driving. Her voice was tense, she didn't even bother to act polite, she wasn't exactly in the mood for a pointless chit-chat.

" _Carbine?"_

"Who's this?"

" _It's Aprilia."_

"Aprilia...? Look, I'm in a hurry so if this matter can wait..."

" _No, it can't I'm afraid... If the guys contact you, could you maybe tell Modo that I'm fine but he can't come to search for me...?"_

"Wait, what?" What are you talking about...?"

" _Can't talk long, I think I'm been followed... I have to disappear for awhile. Just tell him that I'm okay...And I'll somehow try to contact them in some point when it's safe. Just remember to tell him that I don't want him to come looking for me. I'll contact him. Please just tell him that."_

And the phone went silent.

"Aprilia? Can you hear me? Aprilia!"

Carbine sighed. Great. A civilian trying to act heroically. Just what this situation needed. She gave her bike more gas and rushed through the desert.

x

x

Harley was improving the sight of one of the guns. She had pretty much stayed in the garage of the base the whole time the trio of her favourite Fighters had arrived. She was determinated to get the guns and bikes ready for the battle the remaining Fighters were about to enter. She was way too proud of her craftsmanship as a bike jockey but also as a genius with the machines that she was. Luckily they had her, the Fighters were pretty lousy with the mechanical stuff themselves, their skills were to break things up, not to make them.

She put the gun in its' place and took another one and she aimed the gun at the tin can she had on one shelf. She studied the sight of the gun and moved it across the shelves, the whole time having her arm steady, aiming, one eye shut. She moved and moved her arm until a white bulk of muscles came to her view. She looked through the sight but then lowered the gun and gave Vinnie a look. His back was now turned to her, the bros were enjoying a little game, trying to ease up the boredom. She wasn't sure what the game was a about beside smashing stuff and hitting each other.

She rolled her eyes and turned to work with the bikes. This was all very surreal. To be back here, with the ones she cared about, doing the thing she loved. She had gone through hard times. She tried not to be reminded about those years of been captive of the rats, but while been alone, it always came to her mind. That's why it had been nice to see the trio, specially Vinnie. She had been able to move her mind to some place else. Even for a short time. She felt the anxiety crawling in and she tried to concetrate on the bike infront of her even harder. The things she had experienced there, in that rathole... She was determinate to forget it all and never to tell anyone about anything that she had been through.


	10. Chapter 10: Worries

_Phew! Writer's blocks are a bitch... There are sometimes many directions you could take the plot and then you end up pondering upon all the different ways and all and in the end you're just stuck... But thanks for your reviews and all! And a special thanks for DinoDragonMaster to take time to write down some ideas for this story. I always appreciate if someone's interested in the story and wants to throw some ideas!_

 _I also want to say that I've been enjoying your fellow writes' works as well! Keep up the good work, guys!_

 _So... This is a bit longer chapter... But soon, sooooooon I'm getting to the action part. Hang on there! I've been writing and rewriting these lines in this chapter so many times but there still might be some errors in the grammar, sorry about that!_

 _Plese enjoy and leave a review to let me know what you guys think!_

 _-SpaceFlora_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Ten**

 **Worries**

Rimfire was given a little electric shock by the mind control machine but it was enough power to knock him on the floor with a loud thump.

"No luck, hu?" Throttle asked smiling behind his cup of coffee, leaning against one of the monitors just a few steps behind the youngster who was now getting up again.

"It's a high-tech machine, not a bag of chips. I need more time to open it up and find the microchip to unactive the machine...It's just seems that the engineer who built this has made a lot of effort to make it as hard as possible to open. He has come up with somekinda secret mechanism, there aren't any screws or seams..." Rimfire muttered back, taking a seat infront of the machine again.

Vinnie gave a deep sigh, this was all too boring. Where were the fighting, the bombs, the life-threatening dangers...?! He left the main hall and walked to the garage where Harley was installing new weapon systems to their bikes.

"Hi there...!" Harley gave him a quick look and then stood up, wiping her hands to her overalls that were covered with oil stains already.

"What's up...?"

"Oh, nothing... I'm just so bored I'm about to go there and play hide and seek with the sabre squids...""

Harley gave a laugh.

"I reckon you'd be a tasty appetizer..." Harley winked at him. Vinnie only smiled shyly back and cleared his throat while turning his look on the floor.

"Harley...Now that we're, you know, alone...I just wanted to tell you that..."

Harley leaned against a rusty table and crossed her arms.

"Yes...?"

"After you disappeared..."

"You mean after I was kidnapped...?"

"Well, yes..." Vinnie tackled with his words but was cut off.

"Can we talk about something else...? I'm not too keen to wallow in the past..." Harley talked and turned her back to him. Vinnie gave her a look, raising his eyebrow.

"Sure... " He then put on his arrogant smile.

"Past's past, 'ey sweetheart...?"

"Yep." Harley only answered briefly, working on the bikes again. Vinnie stood there a bit clueless what to do or say next. He then slowly took steps backwards.

"I'm just going to...go check on the others then..."

He gave Harley a last look and then went to the main hall again.

x

x

It was already dark when Carbine pulled over and stopped her bike before a big rock formation. She stepped off her bike and walked to the front door and knocked on it. Soon the door was opened by a big older man with the fur the colour of sand.

"General?" The man made a salute.

"Major." Carbine spoke.

"No need for the salutes...I'm off-duty."

"In that case, you can skip the titles and just call me Scabbard." The man talked while letting her in.

She walked straight into the kitchen but stopped on her heels while she saw Scabbard's whole family had gathered there to have a dinner. Oh, yeah, people actually had a life...

"You're clearly busy..." Carbine started but the man turned to his wife who was sitting by the table.

"May I be excused?

"Of course, I will warm it up for you later." His wife nodded back. The man showed Carbine the way to his study. He closed the door after them and made a gesture for Carbine to sit down. Carbine straightened her army uniform and sat down on an armchair while the man took a seat on the other one.

"So, what was on your mind, General...?" Scabbard asked.

"Please, just call me Carbine...This is somewhat off the record."

"Very well."

"It's about the Freedom Fighters..."

"A topic with which you may be more familiar with than me, I'm afraid..." Scabbard gave her a warm smile.

"Apparently not familiar enough... See, I came here to ask you whether you remember if there was a commission from someone to investigate the Fighters during the war...?"

Scabbard leaned back in his chair and looked thoughfully at her.

"An investigation on the Fighters..."

"Yes. I believe that it hasn't been an official investigation but a secret one, you know..."

"Well, then it must've been kept as a secret from me too... I'm afraid I can't recall such a thing..."

Carbine sighed and looked around the study. Scabbard leaned forward to his thighs with his arms, looking at his big palms before clearing his voice.

"Although, I heard some rumours during the war..."

Carbine's look immidiatly was turned back to him.

"What rumours?"

"Rumours about a secret division that worked for the government...Doing the government's dirty job."

"Like what?"

"That I don't know... I was only one of the Sergeants back then, taking orders, not asking questions, remember...?" Scabbard gave Carbine a smirk.

"Yes..." Carbine nodded back, giving a smile. Scabbard then studied her face and got up from his chair. He walked to his bookcase and took a photo album from it and leafed through it. Carbine looked curiously while he took a photo out of it. She got up and straightened her uniform again. He looked a bit torned between whether to show her the photo or not. Scabbard cleared his throat and in the end gave her the photo of a man.

"But if there was a secret division...This man would've been the one to know about it. Major Rig.

"I've heard about him..."

"He had connections to the government, everybody knew that. He rised quickly through the ranks without actually earning any of it... I know he had a great hatred against the Resistance Group. After the war ended he went missing... Goes without saying, we never talked about this..."

"Sure." Carbine looked at the photo and the dark brown male mouse with a white hair in it.

"Can I keep the photo?"

"Sure. I don't need it."

"I'm sorry if I bothered you, Scabbard..."

"It was no bother at all, Carbine."

Carbine nodded back with a smile.

"Thanks. I see myself out." She said and gave a smile and left.

x

x

Modo lied there on top of his bed, his arm under his neck, legs crossed, looking at the ceiling. There was still a few hours left until their take-off for their inquiery mission to the secret base area. Stoker had told them to get some sleep but Modo couldn't. He had tried to contact Aprilia's apartment, to tell her that he was okay. He hadn't had the time to call her after they'd arrived to the base. He had tried many times to call her via VidCom but she hadn't pick up. First he had thought nothing of it, thinking she was doing groceries or meeting friends but now the clock was already close to eleven in the night and she still hadn't been aswering his calls. A worry had started to crawl inside him and it made him sick in his stomach. He sat up on the bed and ran his palms across his face. What if something had happened to her? He didn't know her friends or relatives, he couldn't contact anyone who could know about her whereabouts. It would be a two hours' bike ride to her place, he couldn't just pop in there to make sure she was okay. He started to go through names in his head. He didn't want to trouble mommah so there was only one person he could call. He dialled a number.

" _Modo...? Gods, do you know what time it is...? Is something wrong? Is Rimfire okay?!"_ His sister May appeared in the VidCom's screen.

"Don't worry, sis, he's fine..."

" _Fine?! The police came to visit me this evening! They were after Rimfire and they kept on talking about that he had stolen something from his workplace and now they want to bring him into questioning! What is going on, Modo?! Why would he steal?! He's not a criminal! Did you know about this?!"_

Modo's ears drooped. This might not have been a good idea after all... His sister studied his face, she could tell that the piece of information she had just shared with him wasn't news to him.

" _You knew about this?! You can't hide him there forever! What happens when the police get him?! He can't go to jail, he's only a kid!"_

"Ah know! Look...He's safe here." Modo tried to say in-between but his sister kept on.

" _He has to take back whatever it is he stole!_

"Yeah, that might be a bit tricky..." Modo talked scratching the back of his head.

"Ah'm sorry, sis..." Modo sighed.

" _No, Ah'm sorry, Ah shouldn't take this all on you...It's not your fault."_ May gave a sigh and shook her head, wiping a few tears away that had travelled down her cheek. Modo's ears drooped even more.

His sisters words didn't help. He did feel guilty. He had been feeling guilty for a long time about the fact that he hadn't been able to stop Rimfire from joining the Fighters. That he hadn't been strict enough and had finally just given up on Rimfire's constant pleading. He had never liked the idea of his nephew been a part of their resistance group since that put him in an immediate danger. Rimfire and Primer had been the reason for Modo to join in the Fighters himself. He had wanted them to have a better future. Luckily Rimfire had become a Fighter towards the end of the war and he never served in the frontiers. But now, he was in this mess, too.

" _Just promise me to keep him safe out there, okay?"_

"You know you don't even have to ask me that, May. Ah'd give my life for that kid."

May gave a snort, shaking her head and wiping some tears away from her cheek.

 _"Well, Ah would like to have a situation where Ah didn't need to worry about anyone to die..."_ She then gave a deep sigh and cleared her voice. _  
_

" _Okay, Ah'm gonna take a deep breath now and collect myself..."_

Modo let her talk, although the sickening feeling in his stomach started to become stronger by the second. His mind already started to wander, thinking about his girl...He hoped that she was okay. When this all was over, he wanted to tell Aprilia exactly what he felt towards her. He was going to ask her to...

" _So, Ah guess there was something on your mind as well, for you to call this late...?"_

Modo cleared his throat, trying to rearrange his thoughts.

"Yeah, actually there was, Ah was wondering if you could maybe go check on Aprilia..."

" _Aprilia? Why?"_

Modo tried to hide his concerns but he knew she could read them all over his face.

"Ah guess it's nothing...But she's not picking up...And..."

May cut him off with a warm smile.

" _Say no more, brother... Ah'll go. It's only half an hour ride..."_

"Maybe Radius could take you there..."

May raised her eyebrow but looked away.

" _Fine, Ah guess you have your reasons..."_

"Thanks, sis. Love ya."

" _Love ya, too, baby brother. And ya keep yourself safe as well. Ah will call you after we have stopped by Aprilia's place."_

x

x

" _I told you to keep an eye on that bloody woman! Where is she?!"_

" _Sorry, sir but she must've noticed that we followed her... The unit's still trying to locate her, though...Don't worry, sir."_

" _That's not good enough! When you find her, bring him to the bosses! We need to raise the stakes higher or else those damn misfits are going to destroy that machine! We need something to bargain with! If we give them enough time they'll surely find out where we keep our prisoners, too! There's no time to lose!"_

" _Yes, sir!"_

" _I want them out of the picture! Tell the unit that if they see even a glimpse of the last Fighters, they are ordered to fire! I'm taking no changes! I want them dead, you hear me?!"_

" _Yes, sir!"_

x

x

Vinnie tasted the protein bar Stoker handed to them all.

"Protein bars? C'mon you know these taste like cardboard..." Vinnie whined but still too hungry to care all that much.

"I was preparing for a survival not for a culinary feast..." Stoker muttered.

"Oh, mommah... Talkin' about surviving...Ya know how many hundred bars Ah must eat per day just to get by...?" Modo asked.

"Well, you could lose a few pounds..." Vinnie shrugged his shoulders innocently.

"Yeah? You've got some extra pounds on you too and it looks to me that they're all gathered in your head..." Modo muttered eating the bar, too.

They all had gathered around the table where Throttle had the map laid down.

"So, this night you're trying to snoop around the secret base area... Trying to find out if there are exits or something." Stoker told them.

"Snoop? Snoop?!" Vinnie's voice was cracking with all the adrenaline that had gathered inside his body.

"The Biker Mice don't snoop! We dash, crash and smash!"

"What you mean by "you", coach? You ain't coming? Throttle ignored Vinnie and looked at Stoker who only shrugged his shoulders.

"Look, this mission can't fail, if something happens and if the government gets us too then... We're starting to run out of options whose gonna save us then. I don't want anything to go wrong. I can admit that my reflexes might not be as good as they once used to be and all... I trust you three to do a good job." He then gave each one of them a look.

"You're the best Fighters out there and I'm glad that you're here now."

There was a little silence and the bros changed their postures a bit flustered giving each other a look.

"Hey, when trouble comes knocking then we'll just come knocking a bit harder...!" Vinnie hit his fist on Throttle's arm, who winced a little, stroking the now sore spot, gritting his teeth to his younger bro.

"Yeah, you can always count on us, coach." Throttle then turned his look on Stoker.

"Once a Fighter, always a Fighter." Modo confirmed.

Stoker looked at the trio and nodded. He then turned to look at the map on the table.

"So, as you may have already put together, this is going to be risky..."

"Hey, risky's my middle name! Let's crash that party already!" Vinnie's adrenaline levels had started to reach the roof again.

"Cool it, cupcake, or you'll run out of machismo before you even hit the battle." Harley's voice cut them off.

"Can't let you guys go out there without giving you something else to wear beside those cocky attitudes of yours..." She placed a big canvas bag on the table and opened it. She then threw Throttle a pair of red camouflage combat pants.

"Remember, we're on a planet where pretty much everything's red so take off your pants and put these on!" She gave Vinnie a wink while she threw him and Modo a pair of camouflage combat pants as well.

"...Sweetheart, buy me a drink first..." Vinnie flirted but he was starting to get colour on his cheeks and Modo just couldn't let his buddy be.

"Vinnie's gonna do alright out there, he's soon as red as the good ol' Martian sand!" He guffawed.

Vinnie looked flushed but Harley only poked him gently on his chin.

"Be safe out there, got that, hot shot?"

"Yeah, sure...yes..." Vinnie stutterd a bit but gave Harley a bit concerned look under his brows. It seemed that she was alright again...But Vinnie couldn't help but wonderd that she had been acting kind of strange last time.

"And now the good stuff..." Harley talked and lifted a black case on the table and opened it up. The bros gathered around the case, their fingers starting to feel itchy and Vinnie totally forgot what he was just thinking about.

"I thought your weapons needed to be brought up to date..." Harley chuckled.

"So, here are brand new hand guns to each of you... "

They took the black hand guns and admired them in their hands. As soldiers they were used to guns and such and even as they used them only if needed they still couldn't help but admire the beauty of the modern shiny piece of metal in their hands. Throttle loaded it and tried aiming and looked pleased.

"Hm, good job, Harley...Like the little touch of adornment, as well..." He chuckled while noticing the Fighters' logo on the side of the gun.

"The guns only respond to their owners, they memorize the fingerprints of each one of you, that way when you end up losing one, they're worthless in the hands of the opponent..."

"Oh man, can this girl cook or what?!" Vinnie got excited and aimed and shot a mug on the table while startling everyone else. The hot liquid the mug had contained was now dripping over the table's edge.

"Ahahahahaa! A touch of pure genius, sweetheart!" Vinnie cried out but got a slap on the back of his head.

"I'm about to give you a touch of pure pain if you do that again, punk! We do have a shooting range in here, too, and tons of sand outside, no need to blast the decor!" Stoker looked annoyed.

"Sorry, coach..." Vinnie gave a sheepish smile. Rimfire came running to the main hall.

"What was that?!"

"False alarm, nephew..." Modo talked while tucking the gun on the small of his back, under his belt. Rimfire looked around the Fighters and the map that was on the table and the guns Throttle and Vinnie were still holding.

"Oh, man...! Is it time to attack?! When do we leave?!" He looked excited.

"You're not going." Modo replied and leaned back against the table, crossing his legs and arms.

"What? Why not? I'm a Fighter, too!"

"Second generation of Fighters, kid. Let us handle this mess." Throttle talked. Rimfire looked beaten but then turned his pleading look to his uncle who was trying to avoid it, scratching his neck, sensing that this was about to become a battle of wills.

"Uncle Modo? You know I'm a good Fighter!"

"It's not about that...It's about the fact that Ah'm currently responsible of you, kid. Ah promised to keep you safe. You know what your mother's gonna do to me if you get hurt on my watch..?"

"I'm not gonna get hurt!"

"Ya can't know that, Rimfire. There's always a good potential for getting hurt...or worse."

"Why are you still treating me as a kid?!" Rimfire raised his voice a touch of rebellion and challenge in it. Modo gave Throttle a glance who only raised his hands to tell the grey giant that this was his battle.

"Rimfire..." Modo's voice had started to lose the warmness it usually had, he tried to stay calm but at the moment so many things were going on inside his mind and the concern about Aprilia had settled what seemed permanently to his stomach.

"I'm not a kid! I'm twenty years old!" Rimfire still tried to change his uncle's mind.

Modo stopped leaning against the table and took a few steps towards Rimfire, a good head taller than his nephew.

"You know what Ah was doing when Ah was twenty years old? Ah was out there in the battlefield, in the frontiers, in the middle of a war! People were dying in there! This is not a game! There are Fighters missing and for all we know they could've been killed! You don't have enough of battle experience! You're not coming and that's final!"

Throttle gave his bro a look, it was unusual to see Modo acting like this with his nephew but he knew that all that had been happening around them lately had put everyone on the edge. He knew that Modo only wanted to keep his nephew safe, but still, this was not like him.

"You're not always right, you know.." Rimfire muttered.

"Ah don't care whose right or wrong as long as you're not lying dead out there!" Modo snapped back with a growl. His nephew didn't say anything more, only turned and left the main hall. Modo gave a sigh and rubbed his temples. Oh, man, this was not what he needed right now.

"You better keep an eye on him or he's gonna come after us anyway..." Modo said to Stoker who only nodded back.

"I'll keep him here, don't worry, big guy."

"Anyway..." Harley opened her mouth again and turned around and made a gesture to follow her to the garage.

"If you'll just follow me, gents and I'll be showing a couple of new equipments in your bikes...They're pretty awsome if I do say so myself..."

x

x

There was a careful knock on the door. A golden furred young woman went to open it and was surprised to see her late-night visitor.

"Aprilia?"

"Can I come in, please?" Aprilia whispered and the woman gave her way as Aprilia walked quickly past her.

"It's nearly midnight...! What's happened...?"

Aprilia took her coat away and the woman showed her to follow her to the tiny but cozy kitchen. As the light furred female with her fair coloured hair now haphazardly tied into a bun was still remaining silent, her friend gave a sigh.

"You're making me worried, girl..." Apilia's friend got to say, brushing her burgundy hair off her face.

"I think someone's after me, Beretta..." Aprilia then sat down by the kitchen table.

"What? Who?!"

"I don't even know!"

"Why would you think someone's after you? You know that sounds crazy...!"

"I know what it must sound like but it's true..." Aprilia sighed, looking down.

"But I don't understand... Why would anybody be after you?"

"Well, I think they're after the Fighters..."

"The Freedom Fighters? But we're not in war anymore, we're not working there on their s..." Beretta began but then she gave her friend a look.

"No, Aprilia... Oh my gods, no... Don't tell me you two are back together?"

"We've been some time now..."

Beretta gave an irritated grunt and sat by the table too, across from her.

"How many times I have to repeat that you're worth so much more, Aprilia! Why are you doing this to yourself...?!"

"This is not about Modo, this is..."

"No, this is exactly about that guy! Why would anybody be after you if it weren't for him?!"

"It's not like that..."

"I thought you'd finally come to your senses..."

Aprilia took a deep breathe, trying to remain calm. Beretta was her close friend and they both had been serving as medics during the war, on Fighters' side. Aprilia knew how Beretta felt about the Fighters nowadays that's why she hadn't told her friend her old flame was back in the picture.

"He's not like you think he is."

"They're all the same... After they've got what they want they'll leave you like a piece of trash! He's using you!"

"He's different! He's not like Rifle!"

"How's he different?"

"He loves me!"

"Yeah? Then where is he now?! He loves you so much that he's left you here alone, dealing with whatever that is after you! Wake up, Aprilia! You're a smarter than that!"

"I knew it was a mistake to come here..." Aprilia talked under her breath as she began to put on her coat again. Beretta gave her a look under her brows but then she stood up and put her hands on her shoulders, she was a bit taller than Aprilia. She tried to meet her eyes.

"No, don't go. You can't go. You said you were in a danger...! You're my friend and I just want the best for you, you know that! Please, stay...I promise I'll hold my tongue, okay...? For awhile anyway..."

Aprilia gave her a look but then took away her jacket.

"Fine...I'll stay."

Beretta gave her a hug.

"Thanks. Didn't mean to upset you, Aprilia. Now, tell me everything..."

x

x

"...so, what was that about?" Throttle asked. He had been taken a short sonic shower and was now hanging out in the garage with Modo. They both had their red camouflage pants on. Harley had left the garage to do some gun research online in the main hall and Vinnie had decided to give his new gun a test round down at the shooting range. Modo was polishing his bike which beeped satisfied. He had decided to occupy his mind with something so he wouldn't think about Aprilia. He was waiting also his sister to call him back but he didn't know whether she was going to make the call before they took off for their mission.

Modo sat on his bike and stretched his neck from side to side before finally giving a sigh.

"Ah don't know... Ah shouldn't have been that angry on him. Gods know Ah was just the same while Ah was his age..."

"Well, I know that you were only trying to protect him. I believe Rimfire knows that, too...He'll cool down."

Modo only nodded back, touching gently one of the handlebars. Throttle gave his brother a look who looked like he was lost in his thoughts.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, bro..." The tan mouse started as sensing what was going on in Modo's head.

"You've done a good job when it comes to protecting your family. He just wants to be like his uncle, you know..."

Modo raised his eyebrow at Throttle.

"Oh, c'mon...!" Throttle laughed at his buddy's clueless expression.

"That kid looks up to you, your his hero! Can't blame him for trying to follow your footsteps..."

Modo looked away, having a faint smile on his face.

"Well, Ah should go talk to him before we take off... Just to make sure he's fine. Ah'm also waiting a call from my sis, he should take it if we've already left..."

"Oh...?" Throttle leaned back on his bike. He saw Modo's expression taking a worried turn again.

"Yeah..It's Aprilia...She's... not answering..."

Throttle studied his face but then nodded.

"She could be anywhere, don't worry about her. She's one tough gal."

Modo only gave a nod back. He knew she was tough and all but there was still something very sensitive about her and while thinking about it the worry hit him harder. He just wanted to be there, to protect her, like he had always promised her.


	11. Chapter 11: Secret Base

_Finally! I was on a little vacation and wasn't able to write anything but luckily had all the time to think! So, here's a new chapter!_

 _And I want to thank you all for your reviews and kind words and the very fact that you guys are reading this little story of mine! Thank you all!_

 _I actually had a dream about the next chapter so hopefully I'll be a bit quicker with uploading that one here! In the meantime, enjoy!_

 _-SpaceFlora_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Eleven**

 **Secret Base**

There was a clatter and a piece of metal along with a couple of screws fell on the floor, one of the screws rolling under the monitor Rimfire was currently repairing.

"Damn it...!" The young male cursed loudly and knelt down, trying to find the tiny metal piece. He didn't notice his uncle coming into the main hall.

"Ah guess we need to talk..." Modo started with that warm and rumbling voice of his while taking a seat next to where Rimfire was working. The boy gave his uncle a glare back and got up to fasten the backside of the monitor with screws.

"I'm busy..." Rimfire answered. His hair was messy and his pants were dusty from crawling on the floor.

Modo studied him and then took a more laidback position in the chair.

"Fine, then Ah talk and ya can listen... "

Rimfire got the backside of the machine closed. He played with the screwdriver in his hand, looking at it, carefully avoiding his uncle's gaze. Modo observed him a bit further and then opened his mouth.

"Ah'm sorry."

Rimfire nodded while looking down at the floor again. He then gave a sigh and sat on top of the monitor. After a little pause, he cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, too, Uncle Modo...I shouldn't have questioned you or stood up against you like that... It wasn't respectful..."

Modo looked at his now a bit flustered looking nephew and nodded back.

"Well, Ah guess the actions from my part weren't that exemplary either... It wasn't right to lose my temper like that...Your Grandmommah would've given me an earful for that one..." Modo scratched his neck. A smile acrossed Rimfire's face and he gave a nod.

"Yeah, Grandmommah always says that silence is more powerful than a racket..."

"She's right, as always..." Modo smiled back but then hunched forwards, looking for the words.

"It's just... Ah only try to look after you, you know that. You're my nephew, Ah've seen you grow from a baby to this young man...And although Ah still tease ya and call you a kid, Ah know you ain't a kid anymore. Ah just don't want ya gettin' hurt..." Modo rumbled his ears drooping a bit.

"I know..."

"Look, Ah do trust you and Ah think you're a good Fighter. But this time's different. We're only a few left, we don't back up an entire army of Fighters behind us and we don't know what waits for us out there. Only thing we know is that we're outnumbered. Big time."

"Then you should take me with, there'll be at least one more of us...!"

Modo shook his head.

"You're a bright kid, Rimfire. You've got a future ahead of you, you're still young. If something happens to me out there..."

"C'mon, nothing's gonna happen to you, Uncle Modo...!" Rimfire protested and got up.

Modo shifted a little and he cleared his throat, staring at his hands. After a brief silence the grey giant then raised his look back on him.

"Like Ah said, Ah know you ain't a kid anymore. So, Ah'm talkin' like a man to man here... If something happens to me during this mission, during this whole time... Ya make sure the family's safe and well. Okay? Ya keep your grandmommah, your mother, Primer and Aprilia safe."

Rimfire only stared at his uncle. He tried to process what he had just said to him and what he had left out. The young male then nodded back and finally got his voice back.

"I will. Don't worry."

Modo nodded back, got up and spread his arms and raised an eyebrow at the young man infront of him.

"So, we're cool?"

Rimfire gave a laugh and nodded, giving his uncle a big hug.

"Yeah, we're cool."

Modo patted him on the back and was to leave the main hall but then turned to his nephew again.

"Oh, and Ah'm waiting a call from your mother... If we already have left for tonight's mission then could you take it? It's about Aprilia..."

"She's alright?"

"Ah don't know." Modo answered, quickly becoming slightly lost in his thoughts.

"But inform me as soon as you hear from her, okay?"

"Okay." Rimfire nodded back.

x

x

It was 1 a.m. The base started to rumble as it rised upon the sand dunes again. The trio was getting ready for their mission. Vinnie packed up more flares and put on a black longsleeve. It was cold during the night time on Mars, even if you had fur. Throttle cleaned his glasses once more and put them on. They looked so worn down, he needed to find a place pronto that could maybe repair them. He put on a dark hoodie and on top of that his black leather vest. Modo was talking with Rimfire about something while putting his dark blue hoodie on again. Their new guns were tucked into their leg holsters, tightened on top the red camos they wore. Their bikes shone like brand new, equipped with new gun systems that Harley had been working on.

"Just remember that I know where you are all the time thanks for the tracking system. Well, I know at least where your bikes are, make sure you're with the bikes... Call immediately back in the base if something goes wrong." Stoker told them and they saluted back, laughing a bit, joking around, getting their adrenaline levels rising. They revved their bikes and the room was filled with thundering noise and as soon as the door slid open and they took off, Stoker, Harley and Rimfire looked after them, leaning against the thick door frames made out of steel, shaking their heads, looking out into the desert night.

"C'mon, folks, let's get our hands dirty with the mind control machine." Stoker then patted the other two on their backs as they got inside and the door closed again and the building started its' slow, rumbling way back underground.

x

x

Three bright headlights casted their light on the endless looking sand desert towards East. Vinnie revved his bike and for a brief moment he past Throttle.

"C'mon, I thought we were in a hurry...! You two drive like 80-year-olds!" The white furred male waved his hand at his two bros. Throttle and Modo shared a look.

"Here we go again..." Throttle rolled his eyes but with a smile curling up on his lips. Vinnie only snorted and left to do his fancy stunts a little further on the road. Modo snickered.

"Yeah... We should take him out and play more often..." He agreed.

But they'd missed Vinnie's energy and his way of easing up the atmosphere while driving towards the danger. They were also relieved that he didn't seemed so gloomy anymore about Charley, even though they knew he missed her and more. They also knew what types of texts they've been sending to each other. Throttle and Modo hadn't told their younger bro that Charley had installed the messaging system to each of their bikes and that every text that was sent to Mars and every text sent back to Earth... was to be read in each of their bikes...

They heard the white furred male's cries of victory.

"The cries of a lovesick puppy..." Throttle sighed smiling.

"More like a sabre squid on heat..." Modo mumbled back as they heard Vinnie making noizes further on the road.

x

x

"You should call the police..."

"No."

"Oh, yeah, right...'Cause that's what the normal people would do in this situation, my bad, sorry..." Beretta sighed while leaning to her palm.

"I'm not sure the police could be trusted..." Aprilia talked and gave the clock on the wall a look. Even though it was way past midnight and she was kind of sleepy her mind was raising so fast she knew she wouldn't get any sleep for a while.

"You're that paranoid?"

"No, I'm not paranoid! Well, only a little but that's only because someone just scared the shit outta me...! And because someone tried to tail me!" Aprilia was even herself a little surprised for her outburst but then again, she had been scared. And the simple fact that she didn't know what was going on just gave her an extra reason to be worried and scared.

"Fine...Okay, don't freak out on me here now but...You gotta ask yourself a question...How far are you willing to go...for him?" Beretta asked trying to look her into the eyes directly.

"I do this because I believe in the Fighters, because I know what's right. I may not know exactly what's happened but it sure feels like something's terribly wrong..."

"Does anyone know your whereabouts?"

"General Carbine does. I phoned her but she doesn't know where I am, only the fact that I'm hiding somewhere..."

"General, hu? So, you don't trust the police but you called the Army? Interesting twist but okay... She can help?"

"She's a friend..."

x

x

"Hey, there, look!" Vinnie pointed a spot. They all zoomed in with their nightvision visors and there was indeed something going on. A truck and a couple of men. They had just arrived near the area after a few hour's bike ride but were now hiding behind the sand dunes, lying on the red sand, observing the area.

"Oh, man... Hardly any resistance..." Vinnie whined looking at the figures in the darkness.

"Can you see any signs of entrances...?" Throttle asked and they looked around the area until Modo finally pointed towards a place.

"There! Ah think there's a slight opening...There seems to be something metallic under the sand, maybe it's a doorway..."

The others saw it now too.

"Okay, let's take the coordinates and..." Throttle began but Vinnie protested.

"Can't we just go there and take a little look...? A tiny one, not even a proper look but a glimpse?" Vinnie pleaded.

Throttle gave a sigh, that man was really suffering from the action withdrawals, alright. But Stoker had told them to be careful and only take a better look at the area and then come back to plan out their attack. This was not to be a suicide mission.

"I don't think that's a good idea..." Throttle thought out loud but even to get the tan furred leader thinking of the possibility was all that Vinnie needed.

"Oh, c'mon, just a little spin around the base...A very discreet one, they won't even notice we've been there...! It'll be all smooth and safe!"

"We pack all the smoothness and safetyness of a triggered granade..." Throttle talked back but was surprised to hear Modo jump in to the conversation.

"Well, we're here already, we might as well take a closer look..."

Throttle gave them both a look.

"Fine, we'll just have a little ride around the area to get a better look, let's try to make it quick...Let's ride!"

They hit the accelerators and got off and over the sand dunes, towards the secret base but once they'd appered behind the dunes, suddenly a machine rised from the sand that looked like a massive machine gun.

"Oh-oh, bros...I think it wasn't us that got the glimpse of something..." Throttle talked through the radio installed to their helmets just before the machine started to spit bullets like a downpour.

"Ahahahahah! Action, finally! Oh, sweetheart, come here! Lemme show you how a real mouse kisses!" Vinnie yelled while firing back.

"Manouver no. 37, bros!" Throttle shouted and they split and started to circle the machine gun as it was spinning around, trying to hit them. They fired back and tried to dodge the bullet rain while at it. The machine gun spin and fired like a sprinkler as the bros were shooting the base of the gun, trying to blast the thing. Slowly the big gun started to sway and finally collapsed on the ground, making an explosion. They stopped their bikes infront of it, opening up their visors.

"That's it? This was kids' play..." Vinnie crossed his arms feeling disappointed but then a siren went off and they got startled.

"What's that?" Modo winced at the high-pitched voice.

"I think they want to play some more..." Throttle answered as they looked behind them and where they had seen the entrance was now flooding out soldiers riding bikes, dressed to their combat uniforms, racing towards them.

"What, they're gonna challenge us on bikes? Ahahahahahah! Eat dust, sweethearts, 'cause the baddest motorcycling mammajamma's here...Awhoooooo!" Vinnie cried, closed the visor, accelerated and popped a wheelie before the red bike was already attacking the bikes, Throttle and Modo behind him.

"Bros, aim at their tires and bikes...! Avoid hitting the soldiers!" Throttle ordered. Modo was trying to avoid the gunfire aimed directly at them, quickly changing weight on his bike.

"Ya sure?! These ain't really trying to avoid us!"

"Positive! We don't want to leave a trail of dead people behind...!" Throttle answered.

"Manouver number 20, bros!" He ordered while the soldiers on their bikes were getting closer and closer and just when they would've nearly collided into each other the three bros turned on their afterburners and jumped over them then quickly turning their bikes around and starting to fire the soldiers' bikes from behind.

"Hope you guys like it hot...!" Modo bellowed.

"...'cause we're bringing the fire! Burn, baby, burn!" Vinnie's cry was a hoarse shriek. A thick smoke was beginning to cover the whole area while the burning tires littered the sand along with the damaged bikes. Then suddenly there was a high-pitched whoosh sound. The bros immediately knew what usually caused that kind of a noise.

"It's a rocket launcher!" Throttle shouted as they quickly changed their direction and just barely were missed by a rocket that blew up. Rocks were flying over them along with red sand while they tried to cover themselves and then another swoosh was cutting the air.

"Retreat, now!" Throttle shouted and they quickly accelerated and speeded up while they felt the rocks and sand hitting their backs and helmets again after yet another explosion.

"Oh, man...This really kills my image..." Vinnie whined while they were driving fast away from the base area, followed by a big bunch of soldiers on their bikes.

"Ah donno, bro...Try to take this as a compliment..." Modo checked behind him.

"Yeah, not everyone gets this kind of star treatment...C'mon let's try to lose the tailers!" Throttle affirmed.

x

x

" _Rimfire?"_

"Carbine-ma'am."

" _What are you doing in there?"_

"Uhm..."

" _Forget I asked..."_ Carbine rolled her eyes but then tried to look behind Rimfire, to find familiar faces.

" _Is Throttle there?"_

"No he, Vinnie and Uncle Modo took off a couple of hours ago... Why are you calling this time of the night, General?"

" _I'll have some information on the matter they're digging at the moment...Uncle?"_

Stoker sat beside Rimfire, flunging his arm around the young man's shoulders.

"Hello, girl...! You've got some juicy info? And how does your dear employer feel about you babbling away their secrets?"

" _For your information, the Army's not behind this. I'm on the side of justice. And as a General I'm at the moment very concerned about justice been ignored."_

Stoker huffed a smile.

"Yeah, I know. It's a bummer when that happens."

" _Well, I came across some information that you might not know... I think I know whose the fellows after your rebel asses..."_

"Oh? Do tell..."

Carbine shifted a bit uncomfortably on her seat but straightened her posture again.

" _It's a secret division lead by this man named Major Rig... Well, he was a Major back in the days of war but since that he's apparently vanished. It has come to my knowledge that he along with his secret division have been doing the government's dirty job since the last war...And that they might still be doing that. I was given this photo of the the Major..."_ Carbine showed them a photo of the dark brown man with white hair.

"Hold on a moment..." Stoker said, print screened the photo and then showed her niece to continue.

" _These are guys who are like ghosts, no data, no info found on any of them. I found also some old material from the Army's archives, it was a secret investigation on the Fighters, propably downloaded there unintentionally during the war, there were text files and photos that could put you all into trouble..."_

"Yeah? Did we look good in those?" Stoker smirked back, causing his niece to roll her eyes.

" _Well, they're gone now, sorry if I didn't get to print you all copies for your own wall of shame...Someone must've noticed me going through them...Anyway, if this secret division was taking orders from our last traitor government and if it's working nowdays aswell, for me that implies that in the current government there's someone who has a connection to our last traitor leaders. I think that if you can track down this Major Rig then you'll find the answers."_

"Oh? Well, nice job, you sure have done your homework there, General... Now, why wouldn't you just jump to our side? You're already fighting against the rules, I see..." Stoker raised an eyebrow. Carbine only gave a half-hearted laugh.

" _Yeah, right...And be buried six feet under like yourselves?"_

"How d'ya know we were underground?"

" _I didn't rise through the ranks just by blinking my eyelashes. You don't have any windows there and the reception's bad to say the least. You also have sand all around the floors and in your hair, too, Uncle Stoker."_

Stoker laughed and shook his head.

"You're good. Shame it gets wasted in the Army rows..."

" _Goodbye, Stoker..."_

And the VidCom went dark. Stoker lifted his legs up and crossed them on top of the monitor, going through in his head all the new information... Rimfire started to dial the coordinates to Modo's bike.

"What'ya doing, rookie?"

"I have to call Uncle Modo... Mother called before Carbine and they paied Aprilia's place a visit but she wasn't there..."

Stoker nodded, thoughtfully.

"I haven't heard anything from them, I guess everything's gone well...The bikes were already heading back..."

The VidCom was trying to make a connection and soon Modo's face appeared on it, they could tell he was driving the same time. He gave a look at them but then turned it back on the road again.

" _Hello there, the reception's pretty bad, let's talk fast...We're on our way back...Just takin' a lil' scenic route..."_

They saw Modo looking behind him and heard his two bros joking and laughing around him.

"Everything went according to plans?" Stoker asked, his arms crossed. Modo chuckled back.

" _Yeah. We found the entrance but at the same time we did find some company, too..."_

"What...?" Stoker got a bit alerted.

Suddenly a sound of gun firing was to be heard and Modo visibly manouvered his bike, dodging, looking back but then gave the little monitor on his bike a quick look.

" _We're trying to lose them, don't worry coach...We're just driving around the desert..."_

Stoker shook his head, no matter how detailed he tried to tell instructions to those three Fighters they always found a way to improvise. Modo then gave Rimfire a look who had remained silent.

" _Did your mother call back?"_

"Yes, that's why I contacted you... She said Aprilia wasn't home..."

" _Wasn't home?!"_ Modo's voice got agitated and his expression immediately came flushed with worry. He looked behind him and then dodged something, rocks and sand flew all around and covered a bit of the monitor as well. A loud explosion was to be heard in the background. Stoker leaned towards the monitor.

"Do the manouver number 45, Fighters! That always works! And get your asses down here in one piece, you hear me?!" Stoker then commanded but then the screen went dark.

"Damn these reception problems!" Stoker hit the monitor and was to leave the main hall.

"Try to fix it somehow, will ya...?" He pointed at Rimfire.

"But what about Aprilia...? Maybe she's hurt somewhere?!" Rimfire tried to raise his voice after Stoker but the older man was already gone. Rimfire sat there a brief moment before he got up and ran to the garage.


	12. Chapter 12: Lost

_Hello again! So this was super-efficient from me, to upload two chapters in one week! But like I told you last time, I had this dream about this chapter and it was easier to write. If only I would get all the plot twists and ideas for this story during my time of sleeping..._

 _So, the star constellations I'm referring to in this chapter are actually real and they are Mars' closest equivalents for our Polaris. Also the fact that when the Sun is setting or rising on Mars, unlike here on Earth, the colours they'd see during that time are in fact in the hues of blue and not red or orange, imagine that!_

 _But anyway, here it is, enjoy! And A BIG THANK YOU for all of you who have been reading my story! And don't be shy and leave a review below, I'm always happy to read them, keeps me motivated! Thank you!_

 _-SpaceFlora_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Twelve**

 **Lost  
**

"Do you see them, bros?"

It was quiet, even the wind didn't blow at the moment.

"No...It's like they vanished..."

"Ya know what else vanished? The compass points..." Modo tapped the compass on his bike, the needle just rolled around like crazy. The other two also gave their compasses a look. Throttle tried to log into the bike's navigation system but it showed no data. He gave a sigh.

"Okay, so the magnetic spots are real."

"Magnetic what now?" Vinnie asked curiously.

"Magnetic spots."

"What are they?"

"According to what I've been reading, these places somehow messes up with the navigation systems. No way to tell which way's which..."

"So, how do we know which way we have to go?" Modo asked. Throttle scratched his neck.

"Well, I guess we just have to pick which way we're going and then hope that in the end we'll get our navigation systems back on tracks again. Hopefully it won't take that much time, I don't know how far these areas can reach...Vinnie, light up one of your flares."

Vinnie did as he was asked and then handed it to Throttle who threw that a couple of metres high in the air and once it hit the red sand again, he pointed towards the direction the burning end of the flare was pointing.

"Let's gamble our way through it, bros. Let's take this route and hopefully we'll get out of this magnetic mess soon enough..."

x

x

Stoker and Harley walked to the main hall and sat down infront of the mind control machine that had still remained unable to be opened up.

"Where's the kid?" Harley asked looking around.

Stoker shrugged his shoulders but then leaned to the table with a sigh.

"Well, I wondered what that rumble was a few moments ago..."

"Rumble...? He's gone out?" Harley asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because he was told not to."

"Okay, then should we inform Modo?"

"Nah...Let's wait, maybe he'll come back before them... Modo's doll is already missing I don't want to tell him that we lost the sight of his nephew, too...Besides, the connection's still dead."

Harley nodded back but then looked at the machine before them.

"It's a mystery." She sighed, looking at the device from many different angles.

"Hey, you're the brightest person around here, beside me of course, you can surely find your way to open it up..." Stoker stroked her shoulder. Harley gave him a little smile back but concentrated on the machine again.

"If the IQs around this base is the metre then I'm not sure the comparing's meant to be as a compliment..."

Stoker gave a laugh but then turned to observe the female beside him.

"Did I tell you already how glad I was to find you?"

"Yes, you did. After you boasted about you being a hero and all..." Harley snorted taking her tool kit and opening it. Stoker chuckled back as they then turned their full concentration towards the machine infront of them.

x

x

Rimfire was driving through the desert towards Brimstone City. He felt a little bad that he had sneaked out of the base like that but he knew that Stoker wouldn't have let him go if he had tried to ask a permission to leave. He had figured that his uncle along with the other two Fighters would've taken some time before getting back in the Base again and he had decided that he'd go to find Aprilia himself. Modo had told him to make sure she was safe if anything happened to him, sure he might not have meant to act out straight away but Rimfire was determined to do his part. He couldn't just sit there doing nothing if someone he knew and cared about was in trouble. He had taken his laptop with him, he thought that with his hacking skills he could find Aprilia. While he had been driving almost an hour he drove up to a high rock to get a better reception, stopped his bike, got up and took his laptop from his backbag and started to work. "C'mon, work with me now..." He talked under his breath to his computer.

x

x

"Guys, let's stop here for a second...!" Throttle ordered and they brought the machines to a halt, the backtires sliding a little.

"What now?! Some spots again...?" Vinnie muttered, clearly not happy about their situation. He could've been out there fighting the enemy and not driving aimlessly around the desert. Throttle gave a look at the navigation system in his bike again and just shook his head.

"Nothing. The screen's just as blank as ever... Hate to admit it, bros but we're lost inside of this magnetic whirl."

"Lost?! Hey, that's so not cool! Heros don't get _lost_!" Vinnie cried.

"It can be that we're only going round here. We can't tell since we have absolutely no idea which way we're going...Also the landscape doesn't give us any hints either." Throttle talked while looking around the plain desert, without any distinctive features to be seen. Modo gave a deep sigh and leaned back on his bike, so far that he was currently lying on it, looking at the stars. He was thinking about Aprilia. He hoped that she was okay and when they'd find their way back to the base, he would go find her. He looked at the stars, their twinkling, like millions of little diamonds, like her dark eyes, he could easily get lost into those beautiful shining... Then it hit him and he darted upright, to sit on the bike again.

"What about the stars?!"

Throttle and Vinnie gave him a look, the latter rolled his ruby red eyes with a snort. He had had it with the nature. He wanted to pull triggers and burn some rubber! He did not want to be trekking along these boring landscapes or admiring some stupid stars... Throttle on the other hand clearly looked surprised and raised his other eyebrow behind the specs at his grey furred friend. He shook his head with a smile.

"Man...Big Fella's actually onto something..."

"Well, don't say it like it's the last thing you'd expect..." Modo muttered back.

"As long as it is the night time, we can navigate through the stars!" Throttle was mainly talking to himself, trying to figure out why he hadn't come up with it sooner.

They all looked above them. The darkness was still cradling the landscape around them but in a half an hour, the sun would rise again.

"So, we have to locate our North Pole..." Throttle looked at the sky and turned on the computer program on his visor that immediately started to find the star constellations. He turned around, trying to find the right ones. Then the visor showed him the constallations of Cygnus and Cepheus which were the two closest constallations to Mars' North Pole.

"There! Man, if the North is between those two constellations then I reckon we're somewhere close to the Northern Territories. We have to keep the constellations on our right side so we can drive towards West where Stoker's Base is."

"In the Northern Territories...?" Vinnie then repeated.

"Doesn't that mean that we're technically in the backyard of the rats?"

"Yes... Let's just hope that the rats don't know how to deal with these magnetic spots either..." Throttle answered as they revved on their bikes.

"C'mon, let's roll before the sunrise!"

x

x

" _Harley?!"_ Carbine raised her eyebrows at the ginger coloured mouse now sitting on the other side of the screen.

"Alive and kickin', girl!" Harley gave Carbine a smile as the General looked now a bit dumbfounded.

" _You're alive? Thank the gods! I'm so happy to see you!"_

"You, too, Carbine... Uhm, General..." Harley winked at the black haired high-ranked Army officer who only pointed at her.

" _Hey, you're officially forbidden to call me that!"_ Carbine smiled and Harley laughed back, while leaning back in her seat.

"So, I'd love to chit-chat with you and all but I guess you had something on your mind to call this time of the night?"

" _Yes, I forgot to tell you guys the last time I called that Aprilia contacted me and told me she's been followed or something, I don't know if that's true or not but she said she'd go under radar for awhile...And now she just sent me a message saying she's fine but didn't say where she was."_

"Oh, c'mon, that's stupid! She should've just sent us the coordinates and waited there for our guys to pick her up!"

" _I know, civilians, right? Always making things worse..."_

"Well, I guess she was just concerned that she'll lead those guys straight to us... Maybe she just wanted less trouble for us."

" _Yes, except if she really is been chased by someone whose after the Fighters as well and then tries to harm her or use her as a bait then we'll have to search her nonetheless and then it's kinda hard when you don't know her whereabouts..."_

"Actually...The boys' still out on their mission but we think that Rimfire ran off to search her..."

" _That somehow doesn't surprise me, you should've lock him to his room, he lacks discipline..."_

"That's why..."

" _...he'll make a good Fighter I know. You and your weird rules. I can't wrap my head around the fact why it's a good thing to not follow the orders, that's anarchy."_

"Well, what these guys lack in discipline they make up for in their enthusiasm..."

" _Sounds like a kindergarten, to me..."_

Harley laughed back.

"Well, you ain't wrong there..."

Carbine nodded with a smile.

" _I gotta go know. It's nearly five in the morning. I'll call Rimfire and tell him what I know.."_

"No, no, you go and catch some sleep, I'll have to wait 'til the trio comes back anyway. I'll message Rimfire. But let's catch up some time, yeah?" Harley nodded at Carbine.

"Yes, we definately have to do that! And tell Throttle to call me back when they arrive."

x

x

Rimfire had been hacking into Aprilia's VidCom at her workplace as well as at her home but he hadn't found anything. He sighed and looked at the sky, it has started to slowly clear up and the blue hues of the sunrise started to creep up in the far away distance but just for a couple of minutes longer the darkness would surround him. He shook his head when he hit another dead-end. Then suddenly he got a message to his bike. _"I think Carbine was the last person Aprilia spoke to, if it's any help, kid. Not that I urge you to do anything hasty or stupid. -H."_ Rimfire was so ecstatic by this information that he didn't even wrinkle his nose to the yet another use of the word "kid" around him. He started to hack into the Army's VidCom and phone systems. Finally, he'll get to know where Aprilia had been at when she had contacted Carbine.

x

x

The bros had been driving towards West while keeping an eye on the star constellations on their right side. The bikes still showed that they were inside the magnetic spot but as long as they saw where the constallations were they knew which way they were going.

"We're still a few hours away from the Base, I guess...We're coming from the North West towards it. When we've left this damn magnetic area behind us and our radios work again, we should inform Stoker that we're coming..." Throttle informed the other two.

"Ya two can get to the base, Ah'm headin' to Brimstone the second my compass gives me the first steady point..." Modo talked and earned him his bros' looks.

"What? Ya can't go there alone!"

"Yeah, I want in on the action, too! C'mon! All this driving without danger is just pointless!" Vinnie cried. Modo was to answer them but they noticed something ahead and they had to break down suddenly from their high-speed.

"Well, you know what they say..." Modo gave a sigh and gave Throttle in the middle a look.

"...be careful what you wish for..." Throttle changed his look to Vinnie who just gave a sheepish smile and along with his bros, raised their hands in the air, when a ten-head-strong rat troop was rising from the sand, aiming at them with their rifles, just as the sun rose and cleared the stars above them.

x

x

Carbine was ready to go home and catch sleep for a couple of hours. She locked her office at the Army Base and began walking the corridors. Her head was a mess, maybe a few hours' of sleep would clear her thoughts. She didn't live far away from the base although usually she spent most of her time at the Base and many times slept in there too. At the moment she just wanted to leave all that behind even for a brief moment and get home. She parked her bike and when she was collecting her stuff behind the bike she suddenly got attacked and someone pressed his palm before her mouth. She tried to kick the attacker but in vain, his grip on her was unbreakable.

"Came to catch some sleep, General...? Well, I've got the right medicine for that...!" She heard a voice behind her ear. Then she felt a cloth on top of her nose that had a sweet smell to it, the distinctive smell of chloroform. She tried to shout but quickly rendered unconscious.


	13. Chapter 13: Trapped

_Hello again! So, last chapter was a bit short and contained only bits and pieces... This chapter is more like a "proper chapter"... A lot is happening in it though. I'm quite a slow writer in a sense that I'm writing and re-writing these lines over and over again and then I can completely delete everything if it doesn't feel right and start over again. That's why it sometimes takes time for me to upload another chapter._

 _But! Here it is! Another chapter and things are getting intense!_

 _Thank you all who have been reviewing my story! A big thanks to Vlaatjee, DinoDragonMaster, Wolftattoo and LadyDaisys! Thanks to everyone who have been reading this! I just went to look up the stats and was so thrilled to see how many there are of you! BIG BIG BIG thank you to you all!_

 _And again, I would appreciate for you to write a review below, makes always my day to see what you guys are thinking about my little story!_

 _For the next time, enjoy!_

 _-SpaceFlora_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Thirteen**

 **Trapped**

Harley was looking at the mind control machine like she could open it up only with the power of her stare. She sighed and gave the clock on the wall a look. It was already close to 7 am and the macho trio hadn't come to the base yet. She started to get worried. She hadn't even heard from Rimfire and she sure hoped that he wasn't up to some stupid shit. Stoker had tried to make the reception better, the task he technically had left to Rimfire before this had taken off. The Commander had been cursing loudly while reparing the machine, mumbling something about how the rookies cannot be trusted even with the most simplest tasks...

She was brought to present from her little thoughts as Stoker hurried to the main hall.

"The trio's in trouble...!"

"What? How d'ya know? They contacted the base?"

"No... But their bikes have been in the same area nearly two hours now..Don't think our bros would choose to sleep under the stars in the middle of the rats' territory..."

"Rats' territory? They're in the North?"

"Yup..." Stoker turned on one of the monitors and dialled the coordinates to his pocket computer and then left to the garage, Harley walking behind him. She looked at him putting on his helmet.

"You're going after them?"

"I have to."

"What if it's a trap?"

"That's a risk I gotta take. Can't let those bastards hurt my comrades..." Stoker talked and then sat on his bike. He was to start the bike but Harley put her hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, be careful, alright?"

Stoker gave her a nod but a slight smile appeared on his face.

"Hey, I taught those rookies everything they know, I can handle myself, don't worry..."

Harley nodded, looking down at the floor.

"I don't know what I'll do if you guys didn't come back..."

"Hey, first of all, you'd be fine, you're the strongest person I've come across... Secondly, I'll come back and so will our bros! In the end the government's gonna lose and find out that there'll be consequences for their actions, and that consequence will be us."

x

x

It was early in the morning when Aprilia woke up to a careful knocking. She darted up and looked around the room, and it took a few seconds for her to realize she was still at her friend's house and had been sleeping in the livingroom's couch. She heard Beretta running out of her room and she soon spotted her, dressed in her nightgown, holding a shovel in a defense position. She gave Aprilia a look who gestured towards the tool of self-defence.

"What are you doing?"

"Better safe than sorry I always say...!"

"A shovel?"

"Well, excuse me if I didn't pack a gun!"

"Who can it be this time of the morning...?"

"I ain't waiting anybody, are you...?"

"No... I mean no one should even know I'm here, right?" Aprilia asked while they were slowly taking steps towards the door as there was another careful knock on it.

"Maybe it's the one whose after you...!" Beretta tightened the grip on the shovel.

"You think they would knock first...?" Aprilia talked back.

Beretta gave her a quick and slightly annoyed look back before turning it towards the door again.

"Whose there?" She raised her demanding voice.

A silence.

"Whose there?!" Beretta raised her voice even more along with the shovel.

"Uhm...Friend of Aprilia's...?"

Beretta stopped Aprilia to run to open the door straight away. She turned to her blonde-haired friend.

"C'mon, are you that easy? Cheez...!" She then turned to the door again.

"Tell me your name!"

"Name's Rimfire... Look, is Aprilia there? Is she alright?"

Aprilia forcefully pushed herself to the door and opened it up to let the young male in.

"Rimfire?! How did you know I was here...?" Aprilia asked but urged him to come inside as she closed the door behind him.

"Yeah, how did you know that...?" Beretta asked narrowing her eyes.

"Well...It might have taken a few tricks slightly on the side of invading one's privacy... Are you alright?" Rimfire examined Aprilia with his eyes, trying to figure out whether she was hurt or not.

"Yeah, I'm alright... Where's Modo?"

"He's gone on a mission..." Rimfire talked and while been confirmed on Aprilia's well being turned to Beretta who was still holding the shovel.

"Ma'am..." He nodded at her a bit off-guard, giving the weapon of her choice a look.

"Can you maybe put that down, ma'am...?"

Beretta gave Aprilia a last look but then put the shovel down.

"Fine. I guess everything seems to be in order here..."

"I'm Rimfire, nice to meet you, ma'am..." The young male said to the golden furred and burgundy haired female infront of him. He couldn't help but give her a good look since the colour combination she was having was rare and unusual and to top of it all, she had blue eyes. She was cute even if a bit scary in her demeanor.

"Beretta." The woman introduced herself briefly.

"So, did the General sent you?" She then asked him, crossing her arms.

"Rimfire used to be a Freedom Fighter, he's Modo's nephew." Aprilia explained to her friend.

"Oh...Right..." Beretta nodded, not impressed.

"Well, I still am a Fighter..." Rimfire hurried to explain further.

"So where's the uncle himself? Couldn't make it to save his girl?" Beretta then snapped and Rimfire gave her a quick look.

"It's not like that...!" He then turned his look to Aprilia.

"He's...busy..." Not really sure how much he could tell the civilians.

Beretta gave a snort back that made Rimfire snap back at her.

"Look! I know uncle Modo and he would do anything in his power to be here right now...! But he's at the moment putting his own life on the line!"

"I'm sure, yeah..." Beretta rolled her eyes.

Aprilia gave her friend a warning look but then her eyes turned more warm as she turned them back to Rimfire.

"He's alright?"

"I guess... They left on a mission before we knew that you were in a possible danger. So, can you tell me what's happened?"

"I had a visitor down at the Healthcare Centre, he... just forced himself to my office and started to ask all these question about Modo, about the Fighters, he wanted to know where they were hiding... But I told him that I didn't know anything... And he..." Aprilia then noticed herself stammering her words and shaking a bit. She hadn't had the time to really think about what had happened after she had come to Beretta's place. She cleared her throat.

"He...started to choke me, I nearly lost my consciousness...And next thing he was gone..."

Beretta gave her a look. Aprilia had left that last part out when telling briefly to her about the incident. She along with Rimfire now saw that there was infact slightly purple bruises on her neck and throat that she had been trying to hide from them.

Aprilia felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at the concerned looking young male infront of her.

"I'm sorry." He rumbled and after giving it a short thought he pulled her into a comforting hug. Aprilia hugged him back and while he straightened himself back again she shook her head.

"After I left the Centre...I think they followed me but I guess I managed to lose them..."

Rimfire listened to her story and then made a quick decision.

"I think it's better if you came to the base...If they're still looking for you, you're in a great danger. Also I'm not gonna encounter uncle Modo and say I just left you here..." The youngster gave Aprilia a sheepish smile back. Beretta gave them both a look and then sighed.

"Look...rather than running... Can we atleast just ponder a minute here about all the possibilities? I mean, I've already suggested that we go to the police..."

"No can do. The police can't do anything for us, they can't protect us." Rimfire answered firmly.

"But...How can that be..? You're acting like you're the state's most wanted!" Beretta gave a burst of desperation.

Rimfire changed the weight to his other foot, scratching his neck, looking at the floor. The women observed his now rather awkward way of dealing with the last sentence said out loud.

"The government's behind all this?" Beretta then asked again and Rimfire's ears started to burn.

"But that's...that is too...That can't be?!"

Rimfire cleared his throat. They needed to get the hell out of here as soon as possible, the clock was ticking and he knew that if he had found Aprilia's whereabout it wouldn't take much longer for the government to find out as well.

"Look, we really need to hustle here...! They're going to be here any minute now...! And I'd advice you to come along, too, Beretta ma'am. Just to wait until this all becomes more clear...It's too dangerous to be left here all alone."

"What? You think the government would wanna harm me as well?"

"You want to wait here and find that out...?" Rimfire raised his eyebrow at the woman who only nodded back.

"Okay, point taken..."

"Okay, gather your stuff ladies, we need to roll!"

x

x

Throttle woke up with a startle. He felt himself lying on a cold conrete floor. Slowly he got up, feeling the cold, solid base under his palms, tracing it along with his fingers. It was bright, how could it be this bright...? It was white everywhere, glimmering bright white...Then it hit him, he didn't have his specs on. He tried to find them, carefully feeling the area around him but in vain. He gave a sigh and then used his smell to try to find other clues of the space he was currently in. He could smell the concrete, metal...and a bunch of other mice. He could smell a large coctail of other mice, many of the smells were quite faint but the ones he could smell were more powerful, stating that they were somewhere close. He then carefully raised his voice.

"Modo? Vinnie? You're here bros?"

There was a little silence.

"Yeah, we're here, bro..." he heard the low rumble coming from his other side and he immidiately turned his head that way.

"You have to help me out here a bit, Big Fella, can't find my specs... What exactly is "here"..." Throttle stood up and tried to find a wall or something.

"Well, we're currently locked into these cells, each in our own cell...It's a big hall, dim, there are quite many cells down here but the other ones are empty... You've smelled the others, too?"

"Yeah..." Throttle talked while he came across the cell bars and grabbed them.

"They've been here..." He sighed.

"Our comrades."

He then tried to listen if he could hear their white furred friend moving about somewhere.

"He's still out cold." Modo said to him, sensing which way his mind was going. Throttle nodded.

"So, if there's something good in this situation, is the silence, ya know..." Modo tried to ease up the atmosphere and earned a light chuckle from his tan furred bro.

"Have you seen my specs somewhere...?"

"No. They also took our weapons, Vinnie's flares, your nuke knucks..."

"...and your arm?" Throttle asked carefully.

"Don't worry about it."

That was slightly unusual answer and Trottle would've wanted to ask a more detailed question but something in his brother's voice prevented him.

"How long you've been awake?" He asked instead.

"Ah donno... An hour or so... It's hard to keep track of time in here, there ain't any windows, can't tell if it's day or night..."

"Man, I can't remember how we got in here..."

"I'm sure they drugged us pretty good...My head's still spinnin'..."

"I just don't know what the rats have to do with all this..." Throttle sighed, trying to make his brains work again but it was hard, it all felt so blurry.

"Maybe nothin', maybe they're just hired guns, you know the rats are easily bought. They lack a backbone..." Modo talked his voice becoming full of loathe against the other Martians.

"Yeah, maybe..." Throttle answered back.

x

x

Carbine was looking around her in the tidy office. She was tied up to a chair and even if she tried she couldn't loosen the knots behind the chair. She grunted frustratedly and let the knots be. Suddenly the door flung open and a man in a suit walked in. Carbine looked at his movements, those been nearly nonchalant as he walked behind the desk infront of which Carbine was sitting. The man took a seat and then put down the files he had been carrying, giving her finally a look.

"General Carbine." He had a nearly warm smile on his face. Carbine felt a bit taken back by the man's behaviour and she felt slightly awkward been called so formally while been tied up. But then the fire grew inside her.

"What is all this?! Why am I been held as a captive? I demand answers!"

"I'm afraid you're in no position to demand anything, General..."

"Oh, quit calling me that, this clearly isn't a formal talk..." Carbine hissed.

The man then opened up the file infront of him.

"It has come to my knowledge that you've been quite naughty and acting very unpatriotically...You've been putting your nose into things that doesn't concern you, and what's worse, you've been handing these delicate pieces of information into the wrong hands, into the hands of these so-called Freedom Fighters, haven't you?"

Carbine fell silent and stared at the man.

"Who are you?" She then asked.

"I can sure you that that is not a matter of interest at the moment here... A better question would be, where's the leader of the resistance group?"

"Why should I know anything about that? I do not work for them, I work for the Army."

"Yes, while working for the Army, you're also working for the government, and for a long time our government's been diagnosed with a severe case of rebelling renegades. I'm very delighted to tell you that if you really hold your career and position in the Army close to your heart, now is the time to help your planet, to fullfill your patriotic duties. Tell us where to find Stoker."

Carbine looked straight into the man's eyes.

"Even if I did know I wouldn't tell you that! Clearly you're not trying to help Mars, you're only trying to help yourself and the ones who are behind all this! I'm not been unpatriotic, you are!"

"Is that your final answer?"

"I would give you another one to confirm it but at the moment I can't use my fingers..." Carbine talked, keeping her head held high.

"Very well." The man said and took the files to his hands again, knocked them against the table, putting them under his arm and stood up. He was to leave the room.

"What happens to me?" Carbine asked, her tone of voice calm.

"Nothing. Nothing's gonna happen to you. From now on, there's no "you" anymore. You simply disappear. Goodbye, General Carbine." The man said and let the room.

x

x

It was already noon but Charley had had hardly any work done the whole day. She just stared at the radio she had built to be able to communicate with the guys between Mars and Earth but now the guys hadn't been answering her messages she had sent them this morning. It made her a bit worried. Of course they could have things to do up there, she didn't presume that they had the time all day long to just keep on texting with her but it had been over eight hours already and still the radio remained silent. It wasn't broken, Charley knew that much. She sighed and rocked on her chair, measuring the radio system with her look, wondering, thinking...

She then turned to look around the garage. It was clean. Spotless. To be honest, after the guys had left she had mopped the floors and cleaned the place but now the clean space looked somehow offputting. It didn't feel like...home. She had even tried to listen to Sweet Georgie Brown, the mice' favourite radio show, just to get the feeling like they'd still be there. But even the banging drums and screaming guitars hadn't make her feel at ease. Okay. She just had to admit it. She missed her furry friends like crazy. They were her family.

Now though she could feel that something wasn't right. They would never take this long to answer her. And the mice knew that she was concerned about them and how they'd settle back to life on Mars after so long and wouldn't want her to worry... That's it! She knew there was only one thing to do.

She opened the door to one of the storage rooms and looked at the big machine inside it, a bit dusty already. Luckily, the mice had brought Limburger's transporter machine to be storaged to her garage after Limburger had been sent to the intergalactic tribunal.

Rational or not, but she knew she had to get to Mars if the guys were in trouble. She knew she was only an Earthling and that taking trips through space wasn't that common for her but she couldn't just sit there doing nothing if she knew her family was in trouble. If that meant that she had to go to Mars to check on the three furry antennae heads, then well, she was going to do just that. Charley gave the clock on the wall a look. _Okay, I'll wait another two hours, starting from now. C'mon guys... Hope you're safe!_

x

x

Stoker stopped his bike in the middle of the desert. He got up from his bike and walked a few steps on the red fine sand towards the three lumps. He gave a look to his little pocket computer that was now beeping and stating what he knew already. That there were three bikes lying under the sand. The wind had blown the sand over them, and in the end covering the machines completely. As he got closer, suddenly there was humming and lights flashing through the red sand. He stopped and started with a soothing voice.

"Hey...Bikes, it's me, Stoker...Don't worry, I'm here to help..."

Again, he was answered with humming and rumbling. Stoker shook his head. Yes, like he had told the three bros, he would know exactly where their bikes would be... Unfortunatly the three males weren't with the bikes. Stoker looked around him in the desert. There was nothing to be seen anywhere, no tracks, no nothing.

"C'mon, let's get to the base." Stoker ordered the bikes that got up from the sand, their headlamps on, revving their engines, moving in a rather edgy manner, clearly knowing their owners weren't anywhere close. Stoker sat on his bike and gave a look at the three bikes.

"You don't happen to know where they took them...?"

He got a series of frantic beeps as an asnwer and he only nodded back, giving a deep sigh. The bikes were so close to their owners that usually only they could communicate properly with each other. It was no use trying to make sense out of that beeping... But the bikes carried data in them so back in the garage Harley could do her magic and start to dig for some answers out of the bikes. Stoker revved his bike and left back towards the Base, three bikes following him.


	14. Chapter 14: The Major

Hello guys! I finally made another chapter! With this one it was a struggle, and it took a few weeks to clear my head and think things through but finally I'm pleased with it... Some chapters or sections are just harder to write I don't know why...

Anyway, a huge thank you to all of you who have been reading my story and feel free to leave a review!

'Til next time!

-SpaceFlora

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Fourteen**

 **The Major**

Vinnie coughed a few times and then tried to rise up, holding himself up, using the strength of his arms alone. His head was spinning and he felt like the energy bars he had consumed before leaving the base wanted to take a trip back up. He got himself sitting up.

"Man...I know I said I wanted to party but I'm not sure about the after effects..."

"It'll wear off, don't worry... I think we were drugged somehow..." Throttle explained, sitting on a bench in his cell. Vinnie carefully looked around him, his eyes taking a few second to adjust to the dim light.

"Was it only a dream or did we just got defeated by the rats?" His voice was still a bit raspy after the sleep.

"Yup, the last image I remember is that the rats threw something towards us... Can't remember what it was though...Maybe some kind of a gas shell that released whatever it was that knocked us out straight away..." Throttle talked. Vinnie nodded back, noticing now that the tan furred leader didn't have his specs on. Vinnie got up on his feet and tried to take a few steps. He looked around the dark hall, filled with empty cells but he couldn't spot their weapons anywhere or any of their other belongings for that matter. They only had their red camouflage pants and boots on.

"Damn it. Losing to a bunch of smelly rats is definately gonna leave an ugly mark on my flawless reputation...After getting ourselves out of here I want a rematch!" The white furred mouse muttered and then gave Throttle a quick look.

"So? What are we waiting for?! Let's crash this joint and leave!"

"I'm all ears if you have a plan..." Throttle leaned back.

"Me? Well I...eh... can't you just manouver us from here like you always do?" Vinnie hit the cell bars, but they didn't even shake.

"How does the Manouver number "Evaporate yourself through metal" work for you...?" Throttle muttered back and earned a laughter from the grey giant from the cell next to his. Vinnie changed his slightly irritated look to Modo.

"Hey, at least I'm trying to think of a way out!" Vinnie crossed his arms poutingly. After giving the Big Fella' another look though he could see that he was missing his bionic arm. Instead he could now plainly see the scarred right side of his upper torso that was usually partially covered by the robot arm. And that side seemed to have turned dark red from the blood.

"What happened to ya arm, bro?" Vinnie asked. Modo was leaning against the cell bars with his flesh arm held up, holding his head against the forearm.

"Ah accidentally dropped it... What d'ya think happened to it, smartmouth?!"

"Hey, don't sweat it, bro... Only askin'. It seems they weren't too delicate with the removal, though..."

Throttle's ears perked up.

"What d'ya mean?"

"What I mean's that our bro there's bleeding..." Vinnie got to say before Modo could wave off Throttle's concerns.

"It's nothin'." Modo only mumbled back.

Throttle got up from his bench.

"How badly you bleedin'?" Throttle asked, now figuring out what the faint odour had been around the place.

"Look, ain't we having bigger problems here than some minor sctratches?"

"Minor scratches? Dude, they took ya arm!" Vinnie chuckled back.

"Ah lost my arm years before, what they took was a weapon..."

Throttle sighed, counting to ten. His head was still pounding and all this was not helping. He knew that Modo had mixed feelings towards his bionic arm, it been made by Karbunkle and all. But even that or the fact that he had a lethal weapon attached to his body hadn't change the little fact that he had in a way gotten his lost arm back. Despite all that, he had always remained quite touchy on the subject. Throttle moved closer to his bro on the other side of the bars that divided their cells.

"Modo. If we wanna get the hell outta here, I need to know the score before making any plans...I need to know whether or not we're soon having 180kg of dead weight on our hands or not...How. Badly. Are. You. Hurt?"

Throttle could feel Modo crashing his back against the cell bars, clearly not happy about been under the scrutiny. Modo wasn't the one to complain about injuries, and he had had his fair share of them during the war and combats. But he didn't mind, he would gladly give up an arm or two for the planet and for the ones he loved. And as he enjoyed the more hand-to-hand combats it usually meant that there was a higher risk of getting hurt while fighting so close to the opponent. The grey furred male gave out a loud and irritated grunt.

"Ah can't tell, Ah ain't no doctor... Ah suppose... while yanking the arm off, they must've done it so violently that the tubes cut off and... Maybe they managed to cut some veins in the heat of it...It's not like a waterfall of blood, ya know. Ah guess it looks worse than it is...In summary: Ah'll live."

"You must make sure that it doesn't get infected..."

"Yeah..."

"And tell me the second ya are not feelin' good anymore, bro, got that?"

"Yeah..." Modo sighed and traced the place near his armpit where the tubes were entering his body, brushing the tips of the hairs with his fingers, careful not to touch the skin. A few smaller tubes were hanging from the armpit and one of the tubes had been cut off so it had stayed inside and now there was only a hole where the tube would've come out. He knew that he had lost his arm years ago and the bionic one was not the same, there wasn't any sensation for starters but it did help him to live somewhat normal life. Without it he felt somehow invalid and off-balanced. He tried to push all these thoughts away as he kept on leaning his back against the bars.

x

x

Harley was trying to think. She was trying to make sense out of the data she had been getting from the macho trio's bikes but it was hard in this noise. She tried to cover her ears from the frantic symphony of beeps and bleeps coming from around her.

"Please! Can you bikes be quiet even a few seconds! I can't hear my thoughts yet alone try to focus on finding the guys!"

The bikes answered sounding a little offended but then they turned off their lights and went silent. Harley sighed, turning her focus on the long sheet of paper she had printed out.

"Any luck..?" Stoker asked while coming to the garage.

"Well, I managed to hurt the feelings of three bikes but other than that no... This data is a mess... I can find the coordinates of the place where you found the bikes but before that it's like...white noise turned into scribbles...I haven't seen anything like it before. There are no traces what routes the bikes have gone between the secret base and the place where you found them. Then there's something in the end but I can't tell what it is or means... I have to feed these figures to the computer, maybe it can turn this jibberish into something that we can understand..."

She was cut off since the alarms went on in the base. They ran to the main hall and checked from the screen.

"Who is it this time...?" Harley asked while Stoker zoomed in. She was cut off yet again as the vidcom went on and they saw Rimfire's face in it.

"Guys! Don't be too quick with your trigger fingers this time, it's me again...! And I'm bringing some company!"

Stoker shook his head in a bit of a discontent but went to order the building to rise and opened the door and in few second a bike rolled in and came into a halt before Harley and Stoker. Three persons got up from the bike. The other one of the two smaller figures took off her helmet and her eyes locked into Harley.

"Harley! You're alive!" Aprilia ran to her and swung her arms around the ginger coloured female who hugged her back.

"Yes, I've been hearing that a lot lately..." Harley looked a bit amused but continued.

"It's nice to see you again! It's been a too long time!"

Stoker came to grab Aprilia into a hug as well.

"Hey there, doctor! You're looking good! Are you okay?" He pushed a few strands of her fair blonde hair behind her ear, and giving her a look to make sure she was infact in one piece. He noticed the purple bruises on her neck and he frowned.

"Yes, I'm okay." Aprilia nodded with a warm smile on her lips that tried to convince the Commander that she was just that.

Harley turned her attention on the other female who had now taken her helmet off as well. She was examining the base.

"Hey...I remember you... You were part of the Fighters' medical staff as well, during the war, right? Beretta was it?" Harley then asked the golden furred female who nodded back.

"Yup. That's me."

"Always happy to see familiar _and_ beautiful faces...!" Stoker nodded towards Beretta, who gave a snort and turned away from him.

"Look, I came just because the boy made it quite clear that my life would be in a danger too and also because I wanted to make sure that my friend here was safe."

"Why wouldn't she be safe here? We're all friends here. Better yet, we're family." Harley frowned at the burgundy haired woman who only rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I've felt the love of this family..."

"Sorry, but have we done something to you, pretty face?" Stoker asked and he met the fiery blue eyes.

"I would prefer if you dropped the flirts! And it's a personal matter..."

"Yeah, it is personal..." Stoker mumbled back and then pointed at the door.

"'Cause if you're not one of us, there's the door, doll."

"Okay, let' not jump into hasty accusations here...!" Rimfire came between them and gave them both a look before setting his eyes on Stoker, who was nearly a head shorter than him now that he had grown into his full height.

"C'mon, Stoke... She might be in trouble also... And it is because of us. We can't just throw her out..."

Stoker gave Beretta a look behind Rimfire's shoulder and gave a silent nod but then took a few steps back, towards the garage.

"Fine... She can stay here. For now. But I must say that I'm a little paranoid at the moment and if she's giving me any reason to doubt her stay in here, she can take a hike home, got that?" Stoker gave Beretta a last look and walked out of the room. Beretta turned her look away when feeling the tears prickling in the corners of her eyes.

"He didn't mean that, Beretta ma'am..." Rimfire tried, scratching the back of his head.

"He's usually a lot chiller..."

"I don't care." Beretta blurted her back towards the young male who gave the two other women a confused look not really sure what to do or say next. Aprilia came to give her friend a brief hug.

"C'mon, let's go find the kitchen... We can make some tea and let all this sink in..."

Beretta nodded back but gave Rimfire a look.

"Actually I could use the bathroom before that...?"

"Sure it's just down the hall that way..." Rimfire pointed and Beretta quickly thanked and left the main hall. Aprilia gave a deep sigh, shaking her head.

"I'm not sure if it was wise to bring her in here... I mean she holds a lot of grudge against you guys..."

"Maybe she'll come over... I mean, after she sees that we're not bad and she can trust us.." Rimfire pondered. Aprilia then gave Harley a look.

"Have you heard anything from the guys?"

Harley shook her head.

"I'm at the moment trying to find out what the bikes know about they gone missing...But you know how hard it is to communicate with them if you're not that close..." She sighed. Aprilia nodded back but then gave her another glance.

"You've got Lil' Hoss there...?"

"Yeah... Along with Sweetheart and Lady of course. Stoker found them from the desert..."

"Maybe I could try to talk with Lil'Hoss? I mean, I used to spend a lot of time with her and Modo."

"That could work... Let's try that..." Harley nodded back thoughtfully.

x

x

The door to the cell block was opened and a man walked in with two armed men. The man had a short white hair and the fur was dark brown. He gave the two armed men a signal to stay where they were as he walked closer to his captives that were now leaning against the cell bars in somewhat relaxed manner.

"Is it a visiting hour already...?" Throttle asked a smile on his face, looking into the direction from where he heard the man coming but the stern looking man ignored his remark and gave them three a good look.

"So...You're the three best soldiers the Resistance has... I must say, I'm a bit disappointed that we could caught you this easily..."

"Hey, this is only temporary...!" Vinnie started pointing at the man.

"Yeah, don't worry, we'll check us out in no time!" Modo continued his eye flashing red. The man nodded with a smug smile and gave Throttle a look.

"Nice guard dogs you got there... But clearly you're the leader of this little pack. So, what do you say if we make this short and simple?"

"Short and simple as in you make us walk?" Throttle leaned against the bars, talking nearly in a nonchalant way.

"Short and simple as in you tell me where the mind control machine is and maybe you get to save your beloved ones."

"A generous offer." Throttle nodded back still having the slight smile on his face.

"I'm a reasonable man. Although I do hate the Fighters and all the nonsense you're standing for..."

"Like justice for all and everyone's equal?" Throttle raised his eyebrow.

"For example. It wouldn't be that much of tragedy to see you all being wiped out."

"I heard that you've tried to recruit Fighters to your rows...?" Throttle changed the subject a bit, clearly buying some time and trying to pry as much info from the man as possible.

"Yes, I've tried that but gotta handed to you that you Fighters are a loyal bunch. Only a few of your men joined my side. It doesn't mean that they're free to leave this place but I'll spare their lives as long as I need them... They already betrayed one team, who is to say they're not gonna do that for me too?"

"And the ones who didn't want to join your side? You killed them?"

"Only the ones who have given us a fair amount of trouble. We're having other plans for them..."

"So, enough about us...Care to share who you are?" Throttle had carefully followed the bars with his hands and was now facing the man. Even though he couldn't see him, he felt his breath coming from an angle that meant he was roughly the same size as him. The man huffed thoughtfully but after a pause started.

"I used to be part of the Army. A Major. But I wanted to be the man who gives the orders not the one who receives them."

"An Army bloke who doesn't wanna take orders? Sounds like a rebel to me." Throttle smiled back.

"Yes, but I also want to be in the winning team. Your do-it-only-for-the-justice'-sake thing never appealed to me... You can't get rich by serving the justice. You get rich by being the justice."

"Can't argue with that logic..."

"See, I don't really care who runs this planet as long as it benefits my goals. The ones who actually are pulling the strings have great plans for this planet...And I rather socialize with them than let's say with your kind of low-lives who only interfiere with all things, making things unnecessarily difficult..."

"Someone's gotta make sure that the scumbags like you don't run around free..." Modo growled.

"Yeah, besides we were born to be heros and hunt the bad guys down!" Vinnie gritted his teeth.

"And so the tables have turned, pests...You won't be hunting anymore." The ex-Major nodded at them, rocking on his heels.

"I don't get it, the planet's destroyed, what more there is to exploit in this planet?" Throttle raised an eyebrow but then it hit him and he turned his head towards the Major again.

"...except the people."

"See, I knew you were the smart one." The Major smiled back.

"You're going to use the mind bender machine to turn the people into brain-dead slaves..." Throttle continued his reasoning.

"Only the ones that cause trouble...But look at the bright side, at least they'll not be killed."

"Since we're chit-chatting here...How do the rats fit in this picture?" Throttle asked.

"Our fellow Martians? Well, it wasn't too hard to convince them to join our side, they're holding a bit of a grudge against the Mice population since the general attitude around mice is that the rats are somehow a minor race and the mice have denied some of the basic rights from the rat population, forcing them to live as outcasts.."

"Well, the Freedom Fighters were fighting alongside the rats, they used to be our allies before they stabbed us in the back..." Throttle muttered.

"You see the hypocrisy in your "Everyone's equal" attitude? Even you the Mighty Freedom Fighters don't think like that. Anyway, we the people who are running this planet don't think that way. We gladly welcome a fellow Martian race to sit with us in the same table."

"Yeah, you're a real ambassador of love..." Modo snorted.

"We don't care about race. We care about profit. Who cares who wins if that means that I win too." The man walked back and forth infront of them.

"The truth is that the rats hate you too and they're more than eager to see you all working as slaves in the mines in the far away planets. After that the rats could have this planet for themselves."

"What ties does this government have for the last government? All this sounds like the people up there didn't really change for the better if at all..." Throttle asked still in a calm manner.

"The connection is the power they have. The ones who want to lead are all the same and if they're not they're gonna turn out the same as their predecessors. Sitting up there, pulling the strings, they're finally seeing the bigger picture. They're seeing all the possibilities... The greater tomorrow. And for the greater tomorrow some people have to be sacrificed. It always is like that. Through-out the history. You can't change the way the world goes. Or how the life works. It's the survival of the strongest...And for that greater future to happen we'll need the mind control machine that sadly was stolen from us by one of you..."

"And why would you think that we'll give it back to you?" Throttle asked curiously.

"Yeah, you know that we're not gonna join your sorry ass side." Vinnie lifted his chin up.

"I don't expect you to. You are either going to die in here or join the others who will be the servants of the greater tomorrow once we get our hands on the mind control machine...And we will in the end find it. But I'm not talking about your lives that need to be saved... I'm talking about the lives of your loved ones...While you've been trying to find us, we've been tracking down some of your precious partners..."

The bros got alerted and stopped leaning relaxed against the bars, standing there, suddenly their every muscle tensed.

"Oh, so I got your attention.. Finally."

"If ya got beef with us then fine, bring it on, do whatever you wanna do to us but don't drag the civilians into this...!" Modo pointed at the former Major.

"Like your dear little doctor?"

Modo's eye flashed red and he gritted his teeth.

"Ah swear if ya do anything to harm her Ah'll break every single bone in your body!"

"I did pay her a visit... Don't worry I didn't hurt her, not much anyway. But I must say, she did have nice thighs... so smooth and soft..."

Modo attacked the cell door while trying to get himself out. The cell was shaking and he did managed to make a few dents on the lock mechanism made out of metal.

"Impressive. But useless." The dark brown furred male talked calmly.

"It's too messy to bring a civilian into all this however..." The man continued and turned his look to Throttle.

"But a General... maybe."

Throttle's ears perked and he grabbed the metal bars with force and lowered his voice.

"Don't you dare to hurt Carbine... She's not part of this! She's not a Freedom Fighter!"

"No... Not exactly but she's shown compassion to your side maybe a bit too much. The lines have maybe blurred for her. And we can't have anyone in a high-ranking office that we can't trust..."

"You'll regret it if you're doing anything to her..."

"So, tell me where the mind control machine is. It really is that simple. A trade that pleases both sides...I get mine and you get to play the heros. One last time."

"I'm never gonna tell you where to find the machine so you can ruin thousands of lives..."

The ex-Major nodded thoughfully and turned around.

"Your choice. Shame. I thought you'd be a man of reason, too."

He showed the two armed men a signal.

"Stay here to guard our precious prisoners, I think they'll try to flee...Even if that is impossible."

"Is that a dare or a double-dare...?!" Vinnie hollored after the man but he was gone.

Throttle crouched down, still holding the bars between his fingers in anger, his knuckles turning white.

x

x

Aprilia carefully took a few steps towards Lil'Hoss that still had its' lights out and had been silent along the other two bikes as she and Harley had entered the garage. Aprilia was now letting her eyes wander on the big and impressive looking bike, suddenly remembering all the rides she had taken with Modo and Lil'Hoss. She gave Harley a bit hesitant look but the mechanic only nodded back reassuringly.

"Go on, I bet she won't bite..."

"But maybe it's too long time for her to remember me...?" Aprilia talked back but stopped as Lil' Hoss' engine suddenly made a rumbling noise as she revved and the lights went on. Aprilia stopped on her tracks. These bikes were not to be messed with, they acted very protectively towards their owners and any other trying to ride or come too close to them would be attacked or intimidated away.

"Heey...Lil'Hoss... Remember me?" Aprilia started with a little trembling voice. The bike only stood there, like observing her. She swallowed and took another step closer.

"It's me Aprilia..."

Lil' Hoss suddenly darted towards her and she got scared and fell down on her behind as the bike rolled just inches away from her. Aprilia looked into the bright headlamp, ready to turn around and run but then the bike made a long high-pitched beep, like a shriek of joy. Aprilia stared at the bike a few moments longer but then her heartrate slowed down a bit.

"So, you do remember me, hu? Why did you have to scare me like that...?" Aprilia gave a laugh and then reached for the headlamp and stroked it as the bike made another high-pitched noise. Harley was looking at this encounter from a little further away and a smile appeared to her face.

"This could work after all.." She thought pleased.


	15. Chapter 15: Plans to Escape, Plans to

Hello guys!

A big thank you to all who have been reading and reviewing my story! After I finally decided to upload my stories here and seeing how many have taken time to read and review it, it all has given me so much joy and also determination to try to write a good story. It's much more fun to write while I know someone actually might want to read it, too! So thank you, thank you, thank you all!

And I think it's time again to remind you all that I do not own the Biker Mice from Mars concept which truly is a shame, I would have ordered people to do a new season with the old character designs a long time ago! But that's only my opinion, I know a lot of fans out there like the new design and the new season which is fine also.

Anyway! Here's another chapter, hope you guys like it! And please feel free to leave a review, a comment or just a hello after you've read it!

-SpaceFlora

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Fifteen**

 **Plans to Escape, Plans to Destroy**

Aprilia was sitting on a chair, tapping her pencil against her notepad while trying to talk to Lil'Hoss. Sometimes she felt like they could understand each other and other times it felt hard to figure out what the bike was trying to tell her. Stoker suddenly sat beside her and she startled.

"Oh, hi...Didn't hear you coming..."

Stoker gave a smile and then nodded at the bike.

"So...Have you two bonded already?"

"Well, she certanly is a chatty one, too bad I'm not able to understand everything she'd have to tell me. I can tell that she's missing him, though... "Aprilia trailed off, becoming lost in her own thoughts for a few seconds. She then gave the old Commander a hasty look and cleared her throat.

"Anyway, I've managed to get this together..." Aprilia checked her notepad while tucking the pencil into the blonde bun of hair on top of her head, pointing out of it like a third antenna.

"They found the secret base and they were fighting there against the enemy but they had to retreat...Then there was somekind of a storm or something that screwed up the navigation systems...Don't know what that means...but because of that they couldn't contact the base... Then something came and attacked the guys. But, I haven't yet figured out who attacked them...Oh, and Lil' Hoss has sand somewhere where there shouldn't be any."

Stoker had a smile on his face and nodded.

"Good work, doc...Tell me when you find out something about those attackers or if the bikes know where they've taken our comrades..."

Aprilia nodded but even though she tried to squeeze a smile it still turned to be a sad expression. Stoker nudged her gently.

"C'mon, don't worry... I bet they're getting back here in no time..."

Aprilia nodded again but then she suddenly burst into crying and bent down a little, burying her face in her hands. Stoker got a bit alarmed but then carefully put his arms around her small and soft figure and stroked her hair, trying to soothe her.

"It's gonna be okay, Aprilia...Don't worry."

"I can't help myself thinking...that what if they're not coming back this time? What if he doesn't come back...?!" She sobbed although trying to keep her words somewhat understandable.

"They've got caught...! They won't be having their weapons or back-up...! And you told me that the other Fighters have not come back either...!"

Stoker sighed still stroking her hair, okay maybe he shouldn't have told her that much about the trio's current mission... He gently pressed her head against his chest. He could feel her whole body tremble. He hadn't seen her like this before. Even during the war when they were witnessing hell everyday she had stayed collected and calm although the years of raging war had left marks on her like on everybody else, too. But not once had he seen her in this state. Not that he had been that close to her, but the doctor had always seemed to think in a rational manner and wait for the facts and evidence before making any assumptions.

"Hey now... Don't you get any ideas to your head, okay? I know that they're gonna crash in through the doors of this base in no time...Or then we beat them to it and find them first. Those three are the toughest, bravest and the most skilled Fighters out there. But don't tell them that I said it..."

Aprilia gave a light chuckle through the sobs. Stoker was couraged by this and kept cheering her up.

"And propably they'll be the most annoying prisoners to have...Maybe they'll start to sing and they'll just let them go for the greater good..."

That got Aprilia laugh and she shook her head, crying and laughing the same time. She took a few deep breaths and tried to collect herself before turning her watery eyes to Stoker.

"Thanks, Stoker... And sorry about your shirt, I sort of flooded it..." She gave a sigh, wiping some of the tears away.

"Hey, anything for the family." The old Commander replied with a smile.

x

x

It should be daytime... But it was like late afternoon out here. The Sun wasn't shining as bright as it did on Earth this time of the day. Charley looked around her, lurking behind a bigger stone formation where the guys had hidden another teleport machine. Charley didn't see anyone anywhere nor did she see anything else for that matter. Wow, this planet really was a harsh one. Only red sand and occasional rocks and hills. She had been here once before but only briefly and she hadn't had the time on her hand to just marvel the sceneries back then. But it still turned out to be exactly as she had remembered. Red, rocky and dry. On the further away she could see Olympos Mons looming omniously. It was more than impressive, standing two and half times taller than the Mount Everest. It was so large that one couldn't even grasp the height of it.

Well, she remembered that the guys had told her that the transporter had been hidden near the city of Brimstone but it should take about an hour to get into the city by foot. Just walk towards Olympons Mons they've said. Alright. But the mountain been so vast it actually covered about 80% of Charley's vision at the moment so she could take nearly any direction and still she would be walking towards the monumentous mountain. It didn't help that most of the buildings had been destroyed during the war and the homes were carved into the rock formations those been extremely hard to discover for an untrained eye. At the moment she didn't see any buildings anywhere that could confirm the direction towards the residental district. She gave a sigh and took her backbag. She surely could use a map of Mars at the moment. She took the gps tracker out of her bag. _At least I'll know where the guys lurk._

x

x

Stoker was going through the aerial maps. He tried to come up with a plan to get the three bros out of their predicament. But how? There weren't many of them left down here at the base that could do the job. He knew that for the few of them that could still be sent out there for the mission there would be at least ten times more confronting them, maybe even hundread times more. They were outnumbered. Normally it wouldn't have mattered to him that much but now after the majority of the Fighters were missing or worse... He was sure that they'd not survive the next blow and it could turn out to be a suicide mission. He knew that the enemy was not playing around, they were dead-serious about wiping them off this planet like they were the plague. The enemy wasn't fighting fair nor clean, so maybe it was time to amp up their game as well... He just hoped that his starplayers would come back soon, without them, the fight would be useless.

He knew that the bros were alright, they had to be. They could take care of themselves... Atleast better than the majority of the mice he knew. He didn't like the blaming feeling in the back of his head though and tried to push it away, concentrating on the maps on the big screen infront of him instead. But still the thought kept knocking on his mind... What if something happened to them? It would be his fault. He had sent them to go there even if he knew the dangers. He had known the risks. But he did have the trust in them. And hope. Because if they didn't make it...All was lost.

He shook his head and forced his mind to work on the plan. Had the bros been taken back to the secret base of the government? Or were they maybe brought to some place else? There was literally thousands and thousands of kilometres of sand desert everywhere...

They could be anywhere...

Suddenly one of the computers started to beep. He turned around and frowned when seeing which of the machines was it this time sending the signals. He walked to the little square screen sending data while making alert sounds and it made him raise an eyebrow. Who's been using the transporter...?

x

x

It had been over 48 hours already. It had to be. Maybe even more. Possibly even 72 hours. Heck it felt like they've been there already a year. Vinnie rolled his eyes, so far up that they threatened to roll in the back of his skull. Man, he was bored. He sighed deeply. Then he sighed again, louder and more exaggerated. He tapped the cell bars in a steady rhythm, before changing the beat, it becoming more frantic, and soon he was banging them in almost death metal style. He slammed the thick metal bars one more time and pushed himself further away from them, taking a spin in his cell, looking at the sceneries around them for the hundreadth time. Nothing had changed in there of course. The other cells remained empty, the light in there stayed dim and the two guards nodded off in their places. He turned his attention on the ceiling of his cell and then jumped to slap the cold concerete. Then he jumped again. Slap, slap, slap, slap, slap...! After a few seconds he turned around to give the guards another look. He walked closer to the bars and yawned loudly, stretching his arms. He grabbed the metal poles, leaning forward, squeezing his muzzle through the gap.

"Ahoy, guards...! How about some music?! Can't you put the radio on atleast?! It's too quiet in here, I can hear my thoughts having thoughts!" Vinnie raised his voice but the guards merely cracked their eyelids halfway before closing them again, muttering something back.

"Hello...! What? You're trying to ignore me?!" The white furred male's voice got irritated.

"We all try..." He heard a mumble from the other cell and turned to give Throttle a look who was sitting on the bench, leaning his back against the wall, still as a rock. If the circumstances had been different he would look almost serene.

"But I'm so bored!" Vinnie yammered and turned his look back on the guards.

"Hey, there! Is dying still an option?! Everything's better than this mindboggling uneventfulness!"

A low chuckle was heard.

"If they're takin' requests then how about some chow...My stomach's soon makin' more noises than Mr. Loudmouth over there..." Modo gruffed while reclining on the bench, chilling his other leg on top of the other one.

Throttle cleared his voice and got up, tracing the metal bars with his fingers until he was at the front of his cell.

"Hey, could we have some water at least?"

"You're not getting a drop until you're cooperating." One of the guards told them sounding uninterested. Throttle sighed and leaned against the cell.

"Go tell the Major that I want to talk, then." He said.

"What?!" Vinnie and Modo dropped their jaws in unison, looking at their bro in disbelief. The other one of the guards gave Throttle a glance but then got up and left the cell block.

"What are you doing, bro?" Vinnie asked in a hushed voice but Throttle didn't pay him attention. The tan furred male turned around and leaned his back against the cell door, hunching a little. The guard had his eyes closed again, smackering his lips as he had figured the time would go faster if he slept. He woke up from his light sleep as he heard something dropping on the floor and he looked around him and finally setting his eyes on a spiky earring lying a few feet away from Throttle's cell.

"Excuse me, sir..." Throttle began.

"I think I dropped my earring... Could you maybe give it to me? I would hate to lose it... I can't see where it went..." Throttle tapped the cell bars like demonstrating his blindness. The guard stared at him as did his two bros, a bit baffled what he was up to. The guard snorted and slowly got up from his seat. Throttle's ears perked a little. Modo and Vinnie got a bit alerted and their muscles tensed as the guard walked slowly and carefully towards their bro's cell.

Some feet away from the tan furred mouse the guard stopped and gave him a suspicious look. Throttle turned his look from side to side, like trying to search for him.

"Are you there? Guard?"

The guard shook his head in amusement and then took a few steps forward again and then hunched down to pick up the earring but as soon as he bowed down, Throttle reached his tail around the man's neck and with a swift movement he pulled the man towards the cell and the second he did that his two bros rushed to help.

"Modo! Take the guard!" Throttle sputtered trying to keep the guard in the headlock with his tail while reaching for his weapon but the man fiercely tried to snake his way out of his grip. Modo reached the guard with his own tail and while he yanked him from Throttle's grip he pulled him closer to him and with his strong tail around the man's legs now and his left arm around the man's chest, he pressed the guard against the cell bars. The man grunted as he felt the hard metal bars against his back, his feet barely touching the ground at the moment.

"They're gonna hang you for this...!"

"Aooowhoooo! Sorry, hombre, guess we have to take a rain check on that one...!" Vinnie cheered as Throttle threw him the weapon and he shot his cell's lock and rushed out, shooting at the lock mechanisms in Throttle's and Modo's cells as well. Modo dropped the guard on the concrete floor as he got out of his cell and the man tried to get away first on all fours and then scampered up but Modo's tail grapped his ankle.

"Now, don't ya try sneakin' away..." He grabbed the guard from the back of his shirt, lifting him up again and growled.

"Now, ya be a good boy and tell us where to find our weapons and our comrades..."

x

x

The ex-major Rig was going through some files behind his desk. He flipped through the pages, went through the photos. "There has to be something...something in here that I've not noticed..." He talked to himself. There was a frantic knock on the door.

"Yes...?! Come on in...!" Rig raised his voice without taking his eyes from the files.

"Sir...!"

"What is it?"

"The three prisoners... They've escaped...!"

"What?!" Rig stood up and then rushed outside his office.

"I want all the soldiers after them and one whole unit to guard the cell block where the remaining Fighters are kept! They will try to find and free them! And if having any of them in sight, shoot to kill! They'll not leave this place alive!"

x

x

The base was quite quickly walked through. There was the main hall, filled with computers and odd-looking machines that Beretta didn't know what they were about. Then there was the garage but there had been something on Harley's look that had told her to keep out when she had comen in there to look around. Then there was the little kitchen area. All these areas were connected with a few corridors along which were the bedrooms, little closets that contained only a bed, vidcom and a little table and a shelf system. Beretta had been shown her own room but that been so small, feeling herself almost trapped in there, she rather hung out in the kitchen.

It was maybe her seventh cup of tea. But there weren't exactly anything else to do around here. For her anyway, everyone else seemed busy with different tasks though. Sometimes it felt like the others tried to avoid her company, not that she could blame them and not that she even cared. Aprilia at least had been there keeping her company, drinking a few cups of tea with her but then she had left to small talk with the bike again. Beretta tried to hid her hurt while learning out that her friend rather socialized with a machine than her.

Beretta sighed and scratched the mug's surface with her thumb nail. She heard steps coming towards the kitchen and she gave a quick glance on the young male entering the kitchen. He looked a bit cautious, taking now more careful steps towards the fridge. Beretta felt his eyes on her.

"You okay?" Rimfire asked while taking a soda out of the fridge.

"Yeah, I'm okay..."

"Good..." Rimfire answered in a lower voice, nodding and then tapping the soda bottle a couple of times, not really knowing whether he should stay or run. He then pointed at the chair beside the table.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Go ahead..."

Rimfire sat down and a silence fell between them. He took a gulp from his soda and gave her a look from the corner of his eye. Beretta only scratched the surface of the mug. Rimfire frowned a little and then put the bottle on the table and sighed.

"Look... I'm sorry if you're feelin' terrible in here... It wasn't my intention to hurt you in any way... I just thought that you needed to be safe since...Something could've happened to you if you had stayed there..."

"I know." Beretta blurted out. She then turned her face on the sand coloured young man with stripy hair.

"I'm grateful that you took the time to think about my well-being..." She then looked away again. Rimfire raised his eyebrow at this but then nodded, feeling his mood brightning up a bit.

"Okay, well... I'm glad that you're feelin' that instead of plotting a way to murder me..."

Beretta had to laugh at this but didn't raise her look, only nodded.

"Don't worry. I won't."

Rimfire gave a smile back, got up and gave her shoulder a light squeeze.

"If you feel up to it you could come to the main hall and join us..."

"Yeah, maybe later..." Beretta gave him a little smile and a nod before returning her gaze back to her mug. Rimfire nodded silently and left the kitchen.

x

x

The gun made a clicking sound as it was loaded. Throttle held the gun that Harley had given him that still had the new shine to it. He tucked it on the small of his back while putting on his sweater as did the others as well. Modo ripped the right sleeve off his hoodie, he wouldn't be needing that at the moment. His bionic arm hadn't been found from this room alongside their other belongings. Maybe it had been taken somewhere for a further examination or then it simply had been destroyed. Modo tried to hide his disappointment as he now loaded his handgun with his left hand and went to the door to guard as his two bros were still gathering their stuff from the table in this little storage room. He showed them to be quiet as he heard one unit to run on the other side of the door but they ran past the door and he turned his look back on his bros again. Vinnie knelt down beside the guard that was tied and gagged in the corner of the room and took his walky-talkie, throwing it to Throttle who caught it and put it in the front pocket of his leather vest that he had put on on top of his dark hoodie. Vinnie then tapped the guard on his cheek.

"Don't worry there, sweetheart... You just didn't stand a chance while playing with the best...! And those other two..."

Modo gave a chuckle back.

"Gee, thanks Vinnie for saving us all..." He snorted rolling his eye while having his other ear pressed against the door to listen what happened outside. Vinnie walked beside him and the grey male gave him a quick glance.

"Hey, no need to thank me, it's just what we heroes do...!" Vinnie had a smug smirk on his face and Modo shook his head.

"Allow me to give ya a small gift of gratitude then..." He muttered back and hit Vinnie's arm.

"Aow!" Vinnie was to hit Modo back but was interrupted.

"Okay, enough with the fooling around, bros, we'll have our comrades to save!" Throttle said as he took his weapon again.

"Ya got a plan?" Modo asked.

"Yeah, but it's not a safe one..."

"Aooowhooo! Sounds good already!" Vinnie cheered.

"We're at the moment locked inside the enemy complex with literally hundreads of enemy soldiers around us, ready to kill and we have no clue which way is out. And to top that we have to find our comrades and save them. I reckon our only way to survive this is to split..." Throttle then took a couple of walky-talkys from the storage room shelves and threw them to Modo and Vinnie.

"Let's rock, bros!"


	16. Chapter 16: Good News and Bad News

_Hello! I'm back with a new chapter! I just wanted to say thank you again to all of you who've been reading and reviewing this story! Means a lot to me!  
_

 _Anyway, it's been hectic but I managed to upload the following chapter here in the end. I've already started to write the next one so let's see how long it'll take for me to upload it in here too._

 _Peace!_

 _-SpaceFlora_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Sixteen**

 **Good News and Bad News**

Charley frowned at the gps tracker as she was walking further away from Brimstone City. Where were the three fur brains? The only thing she could see was red sand. She had been walking for an hour but it seemed like she hadn't gotten any further from where she'd started, main reason been the boring landscape that always remained the same. As she gave a look back, the massive Mount Olympos looked also as if she had stayed in place for the past sixty minutes. For a brief moment she actually thought that she had infact been standing still for an hour but she shook her head. _"God, why did I leave my bike behind this is taking for ever..."_ She looked at the gps tracker and sighed. Great, the red spots representing bros' bikes hadn't comen any closer either... Or so it seemed.

She gave another look to her surroundings realizing now that it wasn't as bright as it used to be, well it never was that bright but it started to get even dimmer. Then she got a glimpse on something glistening in the distance, like the tiniest mirror. She stopped walking and stared at the spot. Was it coming to her direction? And if it was, will it be a friend or an enemy? Suddenly she came to a realization that there weren't that many hiding places out here in the desert, if she needed one. She took her backbag and grabbed a gun from it. Luckily there weren't any customs on her way here she mused while she saw that the little shiny object had to be somekind of a vehicle and it started to come more near...

x

x

Throttle walked careful steps, holding his gun infront of him. The corridors were well-lit and quite empty, nothing but occasional thick metal doors that were locked. " _Man, this place is a maze_..." He thought as he came to yet another crossroads of corridors. Since he didn't really know where he was going, he decided to go left. He tried to walk as quietly as he could but the boots still made a little echoing and thumping sound on the empty hallways.

He came to a immidiate halt while hearing people suddenly running towards him. He quickly glanced around and saw a door and he tried the hadle but it was again locked. The floor was starting to indicate that there'd soon be coming a big group of armed men to his direction. He quickly hurried to a little nook and pressed himself against the wall, holding his breath. In a matter of seconds a flood of soldiers past him running and he felt his heartrate increasing its' tempo. The soldiers past just half a metre away from him. But they were gone as quickly as they'd appeared and he let out his breath, leaning his head against the wall. Hopefully the other two were doing okay... He took a careful look around the nook to see that there weren't anyone anywhere and he took his walky-talkie and searched the radio freaquency they had promised to use and pressed the button.

"Hey, bros... You okay...?"

A brief silence and then the walky-talkie made a rattling sound as he got an answer.

" _Why? Did ya miss me already?"_

Throttle sighed but then pressed the button again.

"Vinnie, what's your status...?"

" _The coolest dude in this Galaxy of course...!"_

Throttle had to rub the place between his eyes.

"I mean: Where are you at the moment, Vincent...? What's the situation?"

" _I found a tunnel!"_

"Where?"

" _I guess this is the maintance floor. There are noone in here, which is a bummer. I was prepared to whip some tail, not to twiddle my thumbs...!"_

"Vinnie, we're trying to keep a low profile, not to look for any more trouble..."

" _Vinnie's profile's as low as the great Mount Olympus..."_ Modo's chuckling voice cut their talk.

" _Oh, you're just jealous 'cause I'm so cool and stuff..."_ Vinnie's voice answered.

" _Yeah, Ah've always envied your incredible modesty..."_

"Modo, what's your status?"

" _Well, it's hard to tell where Ah am at the moment...Ah've been walkin' up and down...Ah've come across two units on patrol, luckily could hide from them though but Ah've got a feelin' that there'll be more and more of those goofs and we'll run out of luck tryin' to hide from 'em in some point..."_

"True, we only got so much time to do this job..."

" _Anyway, Ah'm walkin' here as we speak and this corridor seems to be a dead-end although there's a room in the back, Ah donno, somethin' creepy about this place... The smell is like in the hospitals..."_

Throttle looked around the nook again and decided to continue his way while speaking.

"You see anything of interest in there?"

" _Hold on, Ah'm going in through the door here..."_

A silence. Throttle walked along the corridor, holding his gun and kept turning around to see there weren't anyone following him. He then pressed a button on the communication device again.

"Big Fella'? Ya still there?"

But the device remained silent.

"Great..." Throttle muttered while continuing his way.

x

x

Modo let go of the walky-talkie that was wrapped around his neck with a string and looked at infront of him. A wary looking tan coloured female with cropped white hair was standing a few meters away from him, not moving, her eyes wide open like a deer in the headlights but the thing Modo could concentrate at the moment was the fact that she was holding a large knife, pointing at him. The woman stared at this big male mouse whose antennae nearly brushed the ceiling. Modo closed the door behind him quickly and turned to the woman again, holding his gun upwards a bit, like telling her he wasn't going to shoot her.

"Ma'am...Ah'm not gonna hurt ya..."

The female took a few steps back.

"Don't come any closer...!"

Modo gave the facilites a quick look. Yup, like his nose had been telling him, it was a medical procedure room, with shiny steel surfaces all around and medical equipment neatly placed here and there. A chill crossed his back. His eye then fell on the woman again and he took a cautious step forward putting his gun away, on the small of his back, under the hoodie the whole time keeping his eye on the woman who now somehow looked familiar to him. Where he had seen her before...?

"See...Ah put the gun away...So ya can put your knife away, too, right...?"

"Stand back, I mean it...!" The woman screamed and it made Modo to stop coming any closer.

"Ma'am...Ah have no interest in hurtin' you...Ah only need ya to be quiet..."

"Stand back!" The woman only repeated, the shiny knife glimmering in her hand. Modo sighed and lifted his left (and only) arm up.

"Don't do anythin' stupid ma'am... Ah don't wanna hurt you but at the moment Ah'm in kinda hurry and don't really have time to play around..."

Modo took another, more determinated step forward.

"Ya don't happen to know where they're keepin' my bros? The Fighters?"

"The Freedom Fighters?" The woman suddenly asked. A doubt crossed her eyes and then it changed into fear again and she held the knife more up.

"Put the knife away, ma'am, you'll only end up hurtin' yourself and Ah don't want that..."

The woman backed off more but hit the wall. Realizing there was no more room to try and run, she made a quick decision and attacked Modo with the knife but with a swift movement, Modo dodged the knife and grabbed her weapon arm with his left hand, turning her back against him and wrapped his strong tail around her legs and torso. The woman tried to free herself but quickly realized she couldn't even move in his grip.

"Drop the knife, please." Modo rumbled.

She gave a final shot to try to free herself but she knew she was beaten and finally, dropped the knife on the floor with a clanging sound. Modo got a glimpse on something on her neck now that she was her back against him. It was a small tattoo, quite similar to what Throttle had on his right arm. He raised his eyebrow. The tattoo was the symbol of a Freedom Fighter.

"Oh...So, Ah guess we're on the same side here...Or, we used to be anyhow...What are ya doin' in here, ma'am? Runnin' around free and all..." He asked. The woman grunted in his grip, the position she was been held wasn't a comfortable one.

"Can you please...just lemme go?" She asked.

"So ya could attack me again...?" Modo's voice was low as he studied her, trying to see wether she had any more weapons hidden somewhere. She gave a sigh that was now a bit shaky.

"Don't kill me, please..." The woman whispered.

"Kill you?" Modo's lips curled up a bit in humor.

"No... Ah'm not gonna kill you, the Freedom Fighters don't kill in cold blood, not even the traitors... But Ah'm afraid the side you've decided to take is not gonna be that merciful after they've gotten whatever it is that they want from you..."

The tan furred woman started to sob, her head hung low, the cropped white hair covering her face now. Modo gave a deep sigh and then released her but grabbed the knife from the floor and placed it in the leg holster.

"Ah think it's best if ya come with me, ma'am."

"Ah don't want to..." The woman whispered wiping the tears away. Modo looked around him and found a bag that he then started to fill with different medical equipment.

"Well, life's not always about what one wants, ma'am...It's also about what needs to be done." He talked and went through the medicine cabinet, throwing different medicine bottles into the bag as well.

"The Fighters don't want to have anything to do with me anymore after I did...what I did..." The woman shook her head. Modo gave her quick look but continued his task.

"Well, let's worry about all that after we've gotten ourselves out of this place..."

"You can't escape this place! These people in here... They'll shoot you! They'll kill you if you try to escape!"

"Ma'am, with all due respect, stayin' in here will kill you anyway..."

Modo then looked around the facilities one more time and then turned to the woman who looked now ashamed, avoiding his eye contact.

"Here!" Modo threw her the bag and she nearly dropped it.

"Ya can carry that since ya are havin' ya both arms available..." He then took his gun again and it made the woman startle.

"Now, ya clearly don't wanna end up dead, so Ah suggest ya follow me. And don't try anythin' and the most important rule: be quiet. Ma'am."

x

x

Charley looked around her, feeling a slight panic coming to her way. The vehicle was now so close to her that she could indentify it as a motorcycle but the gps tracker showed her it wasn't any of the three bikes she knew. She held the gun infront of her. Momentarily a thought came to her mind that told her that maybe she should've stayed on Earth. But here she was on an alien planet, surrounded by alien surroundings and an alien racing towards her. What were the other women of her age doing at the moment on Earth...? She saw the black bike getting closer and closer and she kept the finger on the trigger ready as the bike suddenly started to decrease the speed and about ten metres away from her it stopped and the biker on it gave her a look.

"Not a nice way to say hello, there Citizen..."

Charley knew that voice and before she could say or do anything, the visor of the helmet opened, letting her to see a familiar smirk.

"Stoker!" Charley put her gun away and ran to him to wrap her arms around him.

"Unfortunately those three couldn't make it to pick you up..."

"Where are they?! Why hadn't they answered my messages?! Are they hurt?!"

"Let's get you inside first... It's dangerous out here...But luckily you have a legend to escort you into safety." Stoker flashed a smile and gave her a helmet.

"Oh, and welcome to Mars, Charley!"

x

x

Vinnie cocked his head upwards, looking at the ceiling where was a hatch made out of steel and a ladder just below it. He had been walking in the tunnel he had found for quite some time. He quickly looked around him but just like it had been for the past ten minutes or so, there was nobody in sight. He then leaped straight to the top end of the ladder and started to turn the handle and soon the hatch made a creeking sound as it opened and a whirl of sand hit him straight in the face. He had to spit sand out of his mouth but then squinted and saw that as a matter of fact he had found a way out of the secret base. The white mouse quickly grabbed his walky-talkie and pressed the button.

"Hey, losers, guess who found the way out...!" He cheerfully announced. The little radio machine made a cracking sound and then a surprising voice came into air.

" _Well-done, ... I was beginning to wonder where you three were hiding..."_

Vinnie quickly gave his walky-talkie a look. Great. Wrong radio frequency.

"Oops...Wrong number, sorry...!" He quickly answered back but then changed the fruequency.

"Well...I've got some good news and some bad news, fellas..."

" _Okay, shoot."_ Throttle's voice was heard.

"The good news is that I found the way out..."

" _And the bad news...?"_ Modo's voice asked.

"Bad news is that the enemy's gonna be in here any second now..."

" _Can you see outside?"_ Throttle asked.

"Yes."

" _Are there any guards and vehicles?"_

"Yup, there are apparently two guards riding bikes out there..."

" _You think you can get one of the bikes?"_

"Like you even have to ask me that...I'm the best after all...!"

" _Yeah, well, listen, Vin, grab the wheels and leave this place."_

"What? No, no...! I'm not leaving you two here havin' all the fun...!"

" _Vincent, get the hell out of here and go get our bikes! We don't stand a chance without our bikes!"_

"Fine, but next time when my life's on the line, I wanna enjoy it!" Vinnie muttered as he then put the walky-talkie away, loading his gun and jumped outside, waving his arms.

"Hey, guards...! Over here...! Catch me if you can, you failures!"

x

x

Throttle sighed and pressed the button again on the radio device.

"Glad to hear from you again, Big Fella'... I thought ya got caught..."

" _Nah... But Ah did caught somethin' myself..."_

"Oh? What?"

" _Ex-Fighter."_

"Ex?"

" _Yeah, she's a ...one of those turncoats..."_

"Should've leave her there, Modo, no time to pick up ladies in distress at the moment...Turncoats even less..."

" _C'mon, we can't leave her here, they'll kill her..."_

"Propably. But I'm more concerned about our comrades who haven't turned against us..."

" _Well, Ah'm not gonna start arguin' about the morals over the radio here... But she could turn out handy in some point...She might have some information."_

"Fine. But no more stupid risks, Modo. And she is one."

" _Fine."_

Throttle rolled his eyes but then heard a click from his left side. He stopped on his tracks and looked to his left and saw a soldier pointing a gun at him. Talking about stupid risks, he had let his guard down for a brief moment and it backfired immidiately. The rifle he was been aimed at was steady.

"Over here! I got one!" The soldier shouted and soon Throttle began to hear a rumble of steps running towards him. This was not good.


	17. Chapter 17: Alien in the Base

_Hello again guys! So, I got the next chapter ready fast since I sort of had been working with the last two chapters alongside, it only needed some changes and corrections... that reminds me that I'm sorry if there are some errors in the grammar! I try to double- and triplecheck everything but still some mistakes escape my eyes!_

 _Also, for this chapter I wrote a long dialogue between two characters, since I enjoy reading and writing conversations. Sometimes the story needs lengthy sentences and chapters explaining things but I enjoy writing the most when it is mainly about the conversations the characters have with each other. In this chapter I wanted to put a more laidback dialogue in it, in the middle of the chaos, just some ordinary babbling, just because life inside a base under the sand might get boring...Wanted to write down a normal ordinary moment._

 _There are some history in it as well, some things have been discovered briefly in the earlier chapters though..._

 _Okay, enough with the boring forewords..._

 _Enjoy and please leave a review, it always makes me so so super happy!_

 _-SpaceFlora_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Seventeen**

 **Alien in the Base**

Stoker drove inside the base and brought the bike to a halt and while the building started its' descend under the sand again he took away his helmet.

"Honey, I'm home!"

"Where were you?! I was worried...! Did it not occur to you to tell anyone where you were going?! Specially when there's an entire planet after your ass out there!" Harley came stomping to the main hall, pointing at Stoker, her eyes fuming as the old commander was helping a stranger off the bike who still had her helmet on.

"I just needed to pick up someone..." Stoker nodded towards Charley's direction as she took away her helmet and Harley's eyes grew big.

"I'm sorry, you picked up...a human?! How far did you go?!"

"Hi there...!" Charley gave an awkward wave to Harley as she heard steps coming toward the main hall.

"Guys..! I cracked the code...! The ones who captured the guys were raaaaats...!" Aprilia suddenly stopped as she got scared of the alien standing in the middle of the main hall. Of course the Martians were more used to the fact there were infact life outside their own planet since the Martians had been trading goods with other planets for a long time and there had been wars and attempts of invasions, lastly the Plutarkian Invasion. Even so, the ones who didn't do intergalactic trips to different planets weren't that used to see unknown species walking amongst them. And there hardly were humans walking on Mars. Only time the Martians had seen humans were via satellite, through movies and such. Aprilia's eyes were wide open as she stared at Charley who gave a small wave to her also.

"Uh, hi..."

"Hi..." Aprilia answered back but then gave the others a look.

"Who's she? Is she...Is she really an Earthling?" Aprilia whispered.

"Yup. This is Charley, without her our bros would've been in much more trouble while staying on Earth..." Stoker introduced the stranger in the room.

"Well...That's true." Charley smiled sheepishly. She couldn't help but find the whole situation funny. Now _she_ was the alien, the weird creature from another planet.

"She's a friend. Actually, she's more than a friend, she's one of us." Stoker rambled on and gave the auburn haired mechanic a soft look. Charley blushed a little.

"So, you're the famous Charley...I heard that you have some mad skills when it comes to the bikes and weaponery...You didn't come to steal my job, did you?" Harley winked, talking with that sensual voice of hers at the fellow mechanic while extending her hand and the human took it with a warm smile. After shaking hands Charley had to give the female mouse standing infront of her another look though. For some reason she looked familiar. But she hadn't really seen any other female mouse other than Carbine through the years she had known her three furry friends. But why did she look so familiar to her...She gave her outfit a closer look, the woman was dressed in a dirty work overall, covered in...grease and smelled like motor oil. The zipper was pulled down a bit, exposing an undershirt and a bit of a cleavage, she looked like straight from some Martian males' magazine, from an issue pointed to the bike lovers. It suddenly dawned on Charley who the tan coloured woman with hints of ginger hue on the mix was and she had to take a step back, it was not an intentional move but she just got that surprised. She felt a slight pinch inside her, not really knowing what the feeling was and didn't even cared to explore it any deeper as she opened her mouth.

"I'm sorry but, aren't you Harley…?"

"Yeah, that's me..." Harley talked back observing the Earthling's behaviour.

"Sorry, I just got a bit surprised..." Charley started to explain.

"I've seen you in their memories...You know when they did that mind-thing..."

Harley and Aprilia shared a look.

"I tought that... I mean, it's wonderful to see that you're okay, I heard what happened to you during the war..." Charley ended her rather erratic explanation.

"What can I say, I'm a survivor..." Harley only gave her a small smile back, shrugging her shoulders, keeping her arms crossed in a laidback manner.

Charley turned her look towards the smaller light brown coloured, blonde female who had been staring at her the whole time with her big brown eyes. A bit cautious while encountering a human the first time in her life but curious too since she was a woman of science after all.

"And you're...?" Charley extended her hand towards the female.

"Aprilia..." Her voice was soft like a whisper but she shook Charley's hand rather firmly, marvelling the same time the Earthling's smooth and hairless palm. Charley noticed she had a wrinkled plain knee-high dress on and with her soft looks she drew a conclusion she wasn't a fighter. She wasn't a muscular type but had a curvy, soft bodyshape. She knew that the Fighters weren't likely to bring civilians into their base so she must have some link to the Fighters.

Charley then turned to Stoker.

"Right...I promised to wait 'til we get here but now that we're here... Where are the guys?!"

Stoker was to answer but Harley interrupted him.

"The guys were trying to find a way to the secret desert base owned by the rotten government of ours, where most of our comrades are been kept as captives, well hopefully. Either they're been kept as captives or they're dead. Anyway, the guys got caught and that's about it."

Charley tried to take all this new information in.

"Wait, what? How long did I wander out there in the desert...? They left Earth just over a week ago!"

"What can I say, they love trouble and the trouble loves them..." Stoker talked, having a slight smile on his lips but then he turned to Aprilia.

"Sorry, doc, you were trying to tell something about the rats earlier...?"

"Oh, yes...! I finally managed to understand what Lil'Hoss was trying to tell me! It were the rats who ambushed and captured the guys!"

"The rats and the government, hu?" Stoker turned around thoughtfully.

x

x

The whole place was packed with soldiers. Maybe 20 of them in the large hall, standing with their weapons ready, guarding a door behind them. Modo gave them a look from the shadows but then sighed and got himself back in the hiding place again. He tried to contact the tan furred leader for the tenth time via the walky-talkie.

"Throttle, bro? Can you hear me?...Throttle?"

But the radio remained silent. If Vinnie had managed to escape then the radius of the radio wouldn't reach him anymore. And he was sure that Vinnie had escaped, otherwise there'd propably be a lot more racket around the base. Modo tried to think. If they'd gotten Throttle, that meant that he had to find him and try free him and their comrades as well, or even try to do that while waiting for their younger bro to come back with their bikes. That meant that he would need much more firepower than he currently had with his one hand gun. He hadn't thought he could miss his robotic arm that been made by Karbunkle and all but at the moment he missed the power its' laser had. Maybe he could find it lying around somewhere, too... And he had to admit it, it felt weird to have only one arm. He heard a noise from his side and gave a look at the tan furred woman beside him who had calmed down a notch but she still seemed agitated.

"Ya okay, miss...?" He asked quietly but then continued.

"Sorry, just realized that we haven't been properly introduced, ma'am... Ah'm Modo."

"I know."

Modo raised his brow at her and she noticed that and rushed to explain.

"I mean, every Fighter knows you three...You're legends. The best Fighters out there..."

"Legends, hu...? No, we're pretty much just two ordinary soldiers plus one high-strung loudmouth..." He chuckled back.

The woman then introduced herself.

"I'm Mina."

"Well, Mina-ma'am... Ya had the privilege to roam freely around the base after ya... decided to switch teams?"

"Not so freely, but I had to do some cleaning so I know my way around a little..." Mina explained, not too comfortable talking about the subject.

Modo gave the twenty-something men out there another look, talking the same time.

"Cleanin' hu...? So ya know where they're keepin' the cleanin' products?"

"Yes, sure...It's not exactly the most guarded place. Why?" Mina looked a bit puzzled.

Modo still looked at the soldiers out there for a brief moment and then she gave the woman a look back.

"'Cause what we need now is a bomb."

"A...What...?"

x

x

"Whatcha thinkin', girlfriend?" Harley gave a look under her eyebrows to Aprilia who seemed lost in her thoughts, sitting on a chair in the garage. The doctor had been clearing an area from the garage for her medical aid spot. It needed a wall of somekind still though, since it wasn't yet the most sanitary place to treat wounds and all. She gave the Martian mechanic a look back but then shook her head.

"Nothing... I was just thinking about my job...If I'll even have one anymore after I just disappeared..." Aprilia talked grimly and then a thought hit her.

"And the reasearch project to perfect the cure...! I'd hate it if my absence delayed the research even with one day..."

"The miracle-fertility-cure-thing, right...?" Harley asked.

"Right... A lotta women out there depend on the cure...I mean, our whole population depends on it!"

Harley gathered a smile on her face while polishing a bike part on her lap.

"Well, I'm sure it'll turn out okay in the end... If it only needs a little perfecting, they'll eventually find it...Besides, you do look like you'll need some rest, Aprilia... Have you slept at all? Like this year?"

Aprilia gave a little laugh back, leaning back on her chair.

"Not so much, no...The research project's been keeping me awake for the past year or so... We're just so close. To get the formula right, it already works for about half of the women but it still needs some improvement..."

"Aprilia. Relax. You can't do anything about it in here so you might as well you know...Kick back a little, sleep or something."

Aprilia sighed, rocking in her chair, trying to smooth her wrinkled dress that she had been using for the past days since she hadn't really had the time to pack stuff with her.

"Am I looking that horrible, honestly? I mean besides the bags under my eyes and whatnot..."

Harley laughed back, giving her a look.

"No... Nothing that a good 24hours' sleep and some clean clothes won't do..."

"Good, I'd hate to look like a mess specially when Modo's back... I mean, _if_ he comes back..." Aprilia became grim again.

"He will. They all will. And for your information, that big lummox will love you even if ya looked like a dumpster..."

"Thanks..."

"No, I mean _if_ you looked like one... You're fine, trust me. You're so adorable that I could squeeze your rosy cheeks!" Harley joked and then pointed at her.

"Just wait 'til he comes back and he'll propably drag you to bed..."

"Harley!"

The tan furred female snickered back.

"Oh, gimme a break, atleast ya have someone..."

"...and I thought you wanted to be a free spirit and all... No strings attached, no binding ties and did I miss something?"

"Free yeah, not a lonely spirit..." Harley gave a snort.

"Well, Modo's back on Mars but so's someone else too...A certain white furred egomaniac..." Aprilia started innocently.

"I'm pretending that I'm not knowing what you're talking about..." Harley answered just as innocently.

"Anyway, it's a long time ago..." She then gave the doctor a look. After polishing the bike part on her lap awhile she raised her look back on her friend again.

"When did they exactly leave Mars? Sorry for asking maybe stupid questions every once and awhile... It's just that...My knowledge on everything is a bit groggy as I lost three and a half years of my life while been captured by the rats..."

"Well, after you disappeared, it was maybe a couple of months from that they were sent on a mission to destroy some Plutarkian spaceships... But one of the Plutarkian crafts hit their spaceship and … well you know, they crashlanded on Earth."

"Didn't they visit Mars couple of times after that?"

"They did... First there was a big misunderstanding... General Carbine thought that they'd turned their backs against the Martians and would've joined the Plutarkians' side..."

"Whatta stupid idea...!" Harley gave a laugh.

"Yeah, they only barely missed the Pit of Everlasting Doom... Luckily we're not under the Martial Law anymore, I can't stand the people been killed even if for a treason with such a cruel way..."

"Wait, Carbine was to throw them into the Pit of Everlasting Doom?"

"Yup."

"Wow... And she and Throttle are still together? He forgave her that?"

"I guess so."

"Oh, wow..." Harley raised her brows in disbelief.

"Anyway, after their names were cleared, I only briefly met Modo that time, they were in a hurry to return to Earth after that incident... We then sort of decided that we'd be on a break or something... Everything seemed unstable at the time and he'd been gone over a year already. I guess he didn't wanna make false promises, he didn't know when he'd come back..." Aprilia continued.

"You and Modo were on a break...? I've missed out on everything! So, why did they decide to go back to Earth? Why not just stay here?"

"They'd found out, after they'd crashed in there, that a Plutarkian business man had started to strip mine Earth as well, starting from Chicago where the guys were at the time... See, the people on Earth don't know about the life on other planets, they didn't know in how much of a danger they were... I guess the guys sort of were the only hope for that planet and they knew that too..."

"No rest for been a hero, hu? When did you two get back together then?"

"It was around six months ago the bros visited Mars again... And again it was a short visit but they had decided to have a little vacation and see the family and friends and well, Modo knew that I'd started to work down at the healthcare centre and he visited me there and things just started to roll again..." Aprilia talked and Harley cut her off.

"Okay, spare me from the unpleasant details of how it did happen..." She started to polish the bike part again. She secretly gave Aprilia a look and saw how her friend's lips had curled into a goofy smile now that she was reminded of her's and Modo's encounter from six months ago. Harley shook her head and kept on polishing the bike part.

x

x

"I mean...! Look at all these machines...!" Charley shouted excitedly.

Rimfire had been showing the base to Charley and they were now concentrating on the computers and machines in the main hall. To say Charley looked like a kid in the candy store would be an understatement. She barely could keep her hands away from the shiny high-tech.

"Yeah, they're pretty rad..." Rimfire talked while taking a seat by the big table in the middle of the room, observing the enthusiastic mechanic.

"This is so cool! I'm in heaven!"

"What's heaven?" Rimfire raised his eyebrow.

"Oh, nevermind...It's a bit of a long story..."

Charley looked at the big screens that showed live footage from Mars, changing the wave-length every once and awhile, making the footage change colour the same time. Another screen was zooming in and out the Martian surface, like searching something. Some tinier screens were showing live weather reports. Some screens she didn't even know what they were showing.

"I bet there's nothing like this on Earth! Only in the sci-fi movies...!" Charley's eager eyes seemed to lock on to every small detail the machines had, admiring the futuristic beauty of them.

"There isn't. You're a far less technologically advanced nation than us..." Rimfire started but then startled and gave Charley a look.

"I mean, no offense, ma'am..."

"None taken...It is true. But I'd love to learn more about the technology you're having! I mean I did learn something from that technology from the bros' bikes but this all...!"

"Sure, I could teach ya sometime..." The young man nodded back and then got up.

"So, lemme show ya the garage..."

They walked the short corridor to the garage and Charley's eyes grew big as she looked at all the bike and gun equipment and parts around her. The two women in the garage had stopped talking and gave them a look.

"Mind if I show Charley around your crib, Harley?" Rimfire smirked.

"No, no...Be my guest! And I guess there are some ehm... friends that would like to say hello to her also..." Harley nodded towards the bros' bikes and Charley's face lit up and she ran to the bikes who started their beeping while recognizing the mechanic who had been keeping a good care of them the past three years.

"Hey you guys...! You look good!" Charley looked thrilled and patted the bikes.

"Gotta admit, you'd done some decent job with the bikes...!" Harley nodded approvingly while getting up.

"That's her way of saying the highest praise..." Aprilia snickered still sitting by the cleared and now cleaned table, going through things in a medic bag. Charley gave the small blonde female a look.

"I'm sorry but I heard Stoker referring to you as a doctor back there...?"

"I used to be in the Fighters' medic team during the Plutarkian War, yeah... Nowadays I'm working more as a researcher but I do occasional shifts at the local healthcare centre... Well, that was before I had to vanish into the thin air..."

"She was harassed by the same guys that captured Uncle Modo, Throttle and Vinnie... I brought her here, she'll be safe here." Rimfire explained giving a brief concerned look towards his uncle's girlfriend.

"Why would they harass you?" Charley asked and Aprilia raised her look on her.

"Oh, 'Cause I'm with Modo so they thought that I'll tell them where the guys were hiding with a little intimidation..."

"I'm sorry, what?" Charley bursted.

"Modo has a girlfriend?"

Aprilia gave her a look.

"Yes. Me."

Charley rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Remind me to punch that guy for keeping this a secret from me..."

They were interrupted as the alert sounds suddenly started to wail again. Charley covered her ears.

"What's that?!" She shouted as everyone ran to the main hall and they encounter Stoker there, looking at one of the screens.

"Who is it this time? You know, for a low-profile hide-out this place sure got lots of traffic..." Harley snorted and looked at the screen too.

"The bike's not any model we're using.." She came to a quick conclusion even if the vehicle was small on the screen.

"So, an enemy?" Charley asked and gave the screen a look too. The bike was rushing through the desert so fast it was hard for the camera to stay on track with it, then the bike suddenly popped a wheelie and the guy driving it threw the fist in the air. He didn't have a helmet on and they saw a glimpse of the driver's face, something metallic shining on the right side of it.

"Vinnie?!" Everyone said in unison and Rimfire went to order the building to rise.

"Any sign on the others?" Aprilia asked behind their backs, trying to see something.

"No..." Stoker tried to find other vehicles in the distance with the heat camera just before the door was opened and a dark green racer came in sliding and it came into a halt. The machine had been brought to its' maximum limits and it was steaming under the hood. Vinnie was still sitting on the bike and he raised his arms, making victory signs with both of them.

"Clear the way for the hero of the century! The speed-king! The velocity atrocity! Man, you should've seen me racin' through the desert! Like the wind, like the hurricane! They got nothin' against me! I'm the best, I'm the greatest! I'm invincible! I'm...!" Vinnie suddenly saw a familiar face in the crowd.

"...Charley?"

"Hehe, surprise..." The Earthling looked now somehow a bit flushed.

"Doll, what are you...You are...You're here...?" Vinnie tackled with the words getting up from the bike but two small hands suddenly grabbed Vinnie from his bandoliers and the white furred mouse swayed towards the blonde female infront of him.

"Vinnie! Where are Modo and Throttle?!"

"Aprilia? What...? You're here too?" Vinnie was now quite speechless trying to figure things out while still shaking from all the adrenaline.

"Okay, no time to waste here, boys and girls, save the greetings for another time. Where are they? Where are Throttle and Modo?" Stoker demanded to know coming closer to Vinnie.

"Yeah, well, they're still there. We need to grab the bikes and go back! Before the party's over!" Vinnie banged his fist against his palm.

"They're still there?!" Aprilia asked, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Are they okay? They aren't hurt, are they?!" She grabbed Vinnie from the bandoliers again.

"C'mon, heros don't get hurt!" Vinnie chuckled but got a smack from Aprilia to his side.

"Tell me!"

"Autch! Fine...! Well, the two are fine! They only took Modo's arm.."

"They took his arm?!"

"I mean his right arm, bionic one, sorry guess I needed to be more explicit with my words there, doll, hehe..."

"Is he okay?!" Aprilia raised her voice. Vinnie took a grip on her shoulders.

"Trust me when I say this, doll, he's okay. I mean c'mon the guy's a rock. Nothin' for you to be worried about..."

"Okay, get ready! Rimfire you come with me and Vinnie to save our comrades!" Stoker ordered and Rimfire jumped to his bike, putting his helmet on and Vinnie changed to his own red racer, caringly stroking the machine's side.

"Papa's here, Sweetheart!"

"Wait! I wanna come with!" Charley demanded.

"No, it's best if you stay here..." Stoker talked while loading his ammo belt with Harley's help.

"No, I think it's best if I come along! I came all the way from Earth to Mars, to help my brothers! I'll not be left behind!" Charley got mad. Stoker gave her a look and studied her face.

"Okay. Come along. But I can't guarantee your safety. Harley, give her a bulletproof vest."

Harley grabbed the vest from the shelf and turned around just to see Charley climbing behind Vinnie's bike as she was so accustomed to do and Vinnie secured her with his tail. Harley gave them a look, it all happened very naturally. She handed Charley the vest.

"Here."

"Thanks!" Charley said and put the black vest on.

"Harley?" Stoker then asked and the Martian mechanic raised her look.

"What? Keep the women safe?" Harley forced a smirk, raising her eyebrow and Stoker smiled back.

"You're the best." He then revved his bike and Harley went to order the building to rise and opened the door and the four left the base, along with Modo's and Throttle's bikes, leaving a sandstorm after them.

Aprilia walked over to her friend and stroked her side with a comforting manner before leaning against the metallic doorway, looking into the distance.

"So...Vinnie and a human..?"

"So it seems..." Harley blurted and pressed the button beside the door and the doors closed and the building descended again.


	18. Chapter 18: It's Not a Party If You

_Greetings, dear fellows!_

 _Big thank you to everyone who's been reading and reviewing! Thank you, thank you, thank you!_

 _ _Here's another chapter for you all and oh man I'm so tired after writing it! It took a huge amount of energy to get it right!__

 _I also went back and did slight revision on the four first chapters... There were some bits that bothered me and also a couple of facts gone wrong so I corrected those AND I wrote some lines again, made some dialogues more fluent etc...So, if you're feeling up to it, you could go check them out again!_

 _So, here's the next chapter for all of you out there! It turned out to be a bit longer chapter since it was just too much fun to write the action scene!_

 _And as always I'd love to hear what you guys think about the story so please leave a review after reading it!_

 _Thank you and until next time!_

 _-SpaceFlora_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Eighteen**

 **It's Not a Party If You Can't Smell the Napalm  
**

The door to the cleaning closet was not locked just like Mina had told Modo, it wasn't concidered to be an important place to guard. They both slipped quickly through the door and closed it behind them.

"Guard the door, ma'am..." Modo said as he rushed to go through different types of cleaning products stacked on the shelves. Mina nodded and pressed her ear against the door but gave Modo a look.

"I betrayed the Fighters...I let you guys down. Why are you trusting me?" She asked carefully, feeling her emotions trying to take over, the tears already prickling the corners of her eyes. Modo read the labels from the bottles and jars and chose one big bottle placing it on the table near by.

"Ah have no choice but to trust you at the moment..." He casually explained and looked around the place and spotted a bucket in the corner and grabbed that too. Mina felt a tear falling down her cheek but kept her ear pressed against the door. She wiped the tear away.

"I didn't tell them anything, I didn't give them any important information, I guess they started to realize that and I think they'd have me already back in the cell if ya weren't.." She then whispered. Modo opened a jar of peroxide and poured all of it to the bucket.

"Ya don't have to explain' ya actions to me, ma'am..."

"Just wanted you to know that...I'm grateful that you trust me...You had the choice to leave me there..."

"Wasn't an option." Modo talked back and read the text on two other jars. Mina now felt like all her efforts to not cry were really for no good and she started to sob, quietly, keeping a palm over her mouth, tears falling down her cheek and her whole body trembling. Modo's ears drooped a little as he gave her a look but changed it back on the bomb in the making. He gave a sigh, walked over the female and wrapped his left arm around her shoulders.

"C'mon... Not now, ma'am... Ah know my mommah always says that one must let it all out but Ah still think this is not the time or place to fall apart..."

"Sorry... I've just been so scared this whole time...!"

Mina tried to swallow her cry but it was a struggle. Modo carefully stroked her shoulder, giving her a minute to collect herself.

"Ah told ya, nothin' bad's gonna happen to ya if ya stick with me and don't try to do anythin' stupid, ma'am..."

She finally managed to control herself and gave a few deep sighs, wiping the tears away.

"Thanks. For been so nice to me."

Modo nodded back.

"Ya'll be okay?"

"Yes...I think so..." Mina pressed her ear back against the door, still wiping away tears and Modo gave her a final look before going back to throw more ingredients in the bomb mix before taking all the spare bullets he had from the pockets of his red camouflage pants and the leg holster and started to open them. Mina gave him a glance.

"So...You've done this before...? That bomb you're making...?"

"Well, not exactly, but Ah saw how it was done once in TV awhile back..." Modo confessed.

"But...It is going to work, right?" Mina asked carefully.

"Don't worry, it was from a highly educational show called MacGyver..." Modo answered while putting a lid on the bucket and starting to tape it tightly.

"Who's MacGyver?" Mina asked looking confused.

"Just one of the wisest men in this Galaxy..." Modo rambled on, cutting the tape with his incisors.

x

x

"This is the place where I found your bikes..I guess while you were driving around here at the time there was one of those magnetic spots whirling around the area..." Stoker gave Vinnie a look while kicking away sand.

"What are you searching, coach?" Rimfire asked.

"A way in. Vinnie was talking about a passageway that he followed from the government's secret base and if the rats are allies with the bad boys and they ambushed the bros here it just could be that...Ha!" Stoker then shouted as he kicked something hard and he started to dig the sand and soon a steel hatch appeared, big enough for even a bike or two to drive through it. Stoker tried the hatch but it was closed from the inside.

"We need to open this sucker..."

"I'll have the key right here...!" Charley said and took her backbag she still carried and opened it, taking a granade from it.

"Sweetheart, you know what I like..!" Vinnie wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Yes, mainly your own voice." Charley winked back at him as the others chuckled in unison.

x

x

"Well, one out of three...Not a good score but luckily there's no place you can hide from me, not inside these walls and not outside of them either. An outlaw can't escape, you can run but you can't run forever. I have eyes and ears everywhere, see. And more importantly, I have patience. It's only a matter of time when I'll find Stoker's secret hide-out...I know that it's hidden under the sand, somewhere out on the desert...Somewhere near the Western Territories..." Ex-Major Rig talked while pacing to and fro infront of Throttle who was sitting on a chair, his hands tied behind his back. This time he had his glasses on so he could study the dark brown male and his surroundings. They were in an office. As he was scanning the room he noticed a metal box on the table and a tape over it saying "Freedom Fighters. Evidence no 97. To the tech lab. Test." He had a vague idea what could be inside of it. He also noticed a knife beside it.

"You'll not win this..." Throttle then turned to Rig again grunting.

"I do admire you positive outlook on life, Mr. Throttle... But it'll only take you so far... Your life will end here." Rig stopped and took his gun from the holster. Throttle gave the gun a look but changed it to the dark brown mouse.

"You know, you can kill a man but not the cause."

"Poetic. You rebels are nothing but a bunch of romantics with guns."

Rig laughed and gave the two soldiers in the room a look as they laughed as well.

"Me, as I'm more of a practical man myself, I think..." Rig then started and pressed the gun to Throttle's chest.

"You can kill a man and his cause."

x

x

The pitch-black tunnel had continued for what seemed an eternity. The light from the headlamps were bouncing against the walls around them and dancing in the distance, showing them what seemed like a neverending passageway, snaking under the Martian desert. The Fighters were rushing through the tunnel before it suddenly started to get lighter in the distance.

"This is it, bros!" Stoker raised his voice via the radio.

But a sound of fire answered him and they saw a squad of soldiers rushing towards them on their bikes.

"Okay, Cavalry! Into the battlemode! And remember, when it doubt: Fire!" Stoker shouted as they popped up the guns in the bikes.

They opened up their line of fire, the dim tunnel starting to sparkle with laserfire.

x

x

Before the door there were about twenty soldiers on guard, looking around, constantly alert, their guns ready to shoot. Suddenly they heard a weird rattling sound and soon a taped over bucket rolled nonchalantly towards them from the darkness before it finally halted, still swaying innocently back and forth before coming to a definate stop. The soldiers gave each other a look before regarding their surroundings around them but didn't see anyone anywhere. One of the soldiers snorted.

"What is this? Is it meant to be a distractor of some kind?" He tapped the bucket with his foot, clearly there was something inside. The other soldiers gave it a look, too, trying to figure out what it was.

"Distract from what?" One of them asked but they all startled as they heard a rumble behind them.

"From this."

Modo stood a good ten metres away from them, his eye glowing red and fired his hand gun, aimed at the bucket and suddenly there was a clear white light surronding everything, sucking everything into its' white heat centre accompanied by the ears-blasting explosion that shook the floors and the ceiling, pieces of conrete dropping on the floor from above.

x

x

The explosion felt also on the next floor up as the ground beneath them shook. The two soldiers rushed to the corridor their guns ready to shoot.

"Troubles?" Throttle gave Rig and innocent smile as the ex-Major loaded his gun.

"Nothing that a bit of lead won't take care off..." Rig was to go after the two soldiers to check the situation but Throttle suddenly rushed up and knocked the dark brown male over, his arms still tied up behind his back. Both falling on the floor, Rig dropped his gun and Throttle quickly grabbed it with his tail, jumping up and pointed it at Rig.

"Rule number one on Mars: always tie the tail!"

The two soldiers rushed back to the room after hearing a racket but stopped on their tracks as they saw Rig lying on the floor, angrily shooting glances at Throttle who now stood above him, pointing a gun at him with his tail. He had taken the knife from the table and was now sawing the rope behind his back.

"Tell ya guard poodles to back off or I'll try close range target practice. Mind ya, the tail's more likely to shoot ya dead..."

Rig gave a snort.

"Fighters don't kill like this..."

Throttle got his hands free and took the gun from his tail and shot Rig on his leg who made a scream of pain and fell flat on the floor. The two soldiers standing by the door looked like they were ready to either shoot Throttle or run the hell out of there.

"No? Still not sending the tin sodiers away? Well, maybe we'll try the other leg...You got limbs to spare..." Throttle mused changing the gun to point Rig's other leg but the man growled then.

"No...! Stop!... You two, leave! Now! That's an order!"

The soldiers gave each other a look and then rushed out of the room. Throttle then loaded the gun again.

"What are ya doing!? I did what you asked me to!" Rig raised his voice.

"Where's Carbine?"

"She's not here..."

Throttle observed the man's face. He wasn't convincved yet. He put his foot against the shot wound on Rig's leg and pressed it hard so the ex-Major started to shout from pain again.

"No?"

"No! She's not here! I told already, ya damn desert rat! The bosses decided that she should go through the military tribunal for her treason instead of bringing her here...! Serving as a cautionary example for all the rebels out there, trying to hurt the government!"

Throttle stepped off Rig's leg.

"See, how even the toughest of birds start to sing in the end?"

x

x

Modo coughed on the floor where the power of the explosion had stricken him. He was covered with dust and some rubble. He touched quickly his left ear where he felt something moist. Blood. Well, there went the eardrum. He got up and looked at the devastation infront of him, he was quite surprised himself too how well the bomb had actually worked. Thanks to the non-regulated toxics the government seemed to be using for cleaning.

All around the hall there were soldiers lying on the floor, some unconscious, some under heavy concrete rubble that had fallen from above, some having difficulties to stand up as they'd lost their sense of balance temporarily and some were holding their bleeding ears, as their eardrums were ruined as well. After the explosion an eerie few seconds of silence had prevailed the hall but now it was beginning to be filled with the shouting and whailing. Modo's walky-talkie then crackled to life.

" _I'm baaaack...! With the reinforcement!"_

"Vin-Man! Ya definately missed a true James Bond-moment, here..." Modo talked, trying to keep his mind light as he stepped over the moaning and cursing soldiers lying all around, kicking their weapons off their reach, taking a few guns to himself, placing them in the small of his back and in the leg holsters.

" _Hey, you know I'm the designated stunt mouse of the group! That's my trademark!"_

Modo gave a laugh as he was heading towards the thick metal door that now was covered with black smutch from the explosion. Coughing a few times more since a smoke cloud was still lingering in the space.

"So, a quick update, it's only me in here. They got Throttle...Haven't heard from him..."

" _Well, I've got an update for ya, too..."_ Vinnie started but clearly the radio was handed over to another person as the voice changed into a female's voice.

 _"Your sweet little doctor's safe, Romeo."_

"Wait..Charley? You're on Mars?...And Aprilia's safe? She's alright?" Modo asked baffled and felt how his muscles started to loosen up, he hadn't even noticed how tense he had been.

" _That's right...! Where are you at the moment?"_ The voice changed into Vinnie's again.

"Ah'm at the second floor, Ah think Ah found our comrades..." Modo gave the door a look, it had an external lock hanging from it.

" _Alive"?_

"Ah'll let you know soon..."

Modo let go of the radio device as he shot the lock and then after a brief moment of bracing himself what he might find behind the door, he opened it. The door was heavy and as he got it open he gave a sigh and took the radio device again.

"Listen, Vinnie, Ah think we'll need a truck."

" _Why?"_

Modo gave a laugh as nearly a dozen of Fighters got up from the floor and benches of the dim cell, cheering and shouting, coming to greet Modo with the true Fighter style, nearly knocking him off balance as they attacked him with a rough manner and started to tease him.

"Took ya guys long enough to get your asses here!"

"Welcome to Motel Most-Wanted!"

"Ya didn't happen to bring any beer, did ya?"

Modo laughed back and took the radio again.

"It's either a truck or a piggyback ride back to base, they're alive!"

" _Aoowooooo! Right on! One truck comin' right up!"_ Vinnie's howl was heard as some of the Fighters ran to grab guns from the soldiers who were still lying on the floor or having hard time to stand up.

x

x

Throttle grabbed Rig from his collar and got him standing up and then shoved him to move before him, out of the room, keeping the gun pointing his back. Under his other arm he was keeping the metal box he had found from the room. Rig for some reason didn't seemed too shocked but had a rude and steaming expression on his face as he limped forward.

"So...Wanna bet how your troops are hanging in there...? We could play a little game called "How many Freedom Fighters it'll take to trash this place?" Throttle talked behind him as they walked along the corridor.

"I'll get you for this, you lousy renegades...I'm gonna shoot ya all one by one!" Rig growled back.

"Oh, who's the little drama queen, now...?" Throttle talked back before taking the walky-talkie he had found back in the room and changed it back on the frequency his bros were using.

"You didn't think you could party without me, now did ya?"

" _Throttle! Good to hear from you! Ah knew ya could handle a few soldiers on your own..."_

"Where are ya, Modo?"

" _Ah'm at the second floor, just follow the smoke...But maybe it's best if ya try to avoid breathin' it in as much as possible, Ah can't guarantee it's healthy to inhale that stuff...Oh, and Ah found the comrades, many have been hurt though..."_

"Be right there! I'm sure my new tour guide here has no trouble leading the way...!"

 _"Copy that, the back up's gonna be here any minute now as well...!"_

x

x

Vinnie and Charley were driving around the base, trying to figure out which direction the garage was. They came across soldiers and speeded up, firing the unit and Vinnie jumped over the squad just when they were about to clash into each other. Charley then grabbed him by his shoulder.

"There...! The garage must be behind those big doors! Even an aeroplane could fit through them!"

Vinnie swirled the bike over, his knee nearly touching the floor and then fired the doors before the lock mechanism got broken and the doors ajar. Vinnie drove beside the doors and came to a sudden halt and lifted Charley off the bike with his tail.

"Wait...What do you think you're doing?!" She shouted.

"You get the truck, sweetheart...!" Vinnie threw her his walky-talkie.

Sounds of firing started in the distant.

"There's hero stuff to be done! Aaaooowww! Careful who you're firing, sweethearts! This bomb might just go boom!" Vinnie banged his fist into the air and speeded off popping a wheelie, towards the sound of destruction. Charley shook her head and then rushed in through the massive doors just to see that she infact had been right. It was the garage. And there were a lot to choose from.

x

x

"Uncle Modo!" Rimfire drove to Modo who had been tying the soldiers up with the Fighters who could stand on their feet. Some of the Fighters he had found had suffered from a severe dehydration and couldn't really stay on their feet. A couple of Fighters had also been badly beaten and had broken a limb or a few ribs. Stoker drove to them just behind Rimfire and quickly scanned the area, seeing what was left of his troops. He got off his bike and went to greet his fighters, making it sure he didn't skip any of them. Modo walked to his nephew and gave him a hug and Rimfire tapped his uncle on the back smiling in relief to find him alive.

"Look, Uncle Modo! A battle scar!" He then showed a cut on his arm to Modo who gave a little frown on the small cut but knew it wasn't a bad one.

"Better tell ya mother ya got that one from sewing..." He smirked back at the young male before turning to his beloved Lil'Hoss who had followed Rimfire's bike along with Throttle's bike, to stroke the handlebars lovingly, observing the paint hadn't been scratched anywhere while continuing his chatting with his nephew.

Stoker walked to them accompanied by a dark grey male who was taller than Throttle but still lacked Modo's impressive build.

"When we're gettin' the wheels, we're gettin' this ragged caravan outta here! We're goin' back to the base. I don't want any more casualties." Stoker gave the hurt comrades a look behind them.

"We'll get these guys later and we will hit them where it hurts! But right now it's more important to get all into safety and treat the wounded as quickly as possible."

They heard an engine roaring and soon a red racer slid into a halt before their eyes and Vinnie opened up his visor.

"Charley will be here in a sec with the truck but so'll be the enemy troops as well! What you're waiting for?! Let's shake the roof of this joint one more time before we hit the road!"

And as he had said that they heard bikes coming to their direction. Stoker gave the dark grey mouse behind him a look.

"Hudson, make sure everyone's okay in here...!"

"You got it, coach!" The big mouse answered loading the gun he had taken from one the guards.

"We're keepin' the little soldier boys busy until the truck comes...!" Stoker said and hopped on his bike as did Modo and Rimfire too and with Vinnie already in full speed, they revved and speeded towards the squad of soldiers coming towards them. Modo absent-mindedly gave a look around the hall before he speeded off, noticing just now that Mina was nowhere to be seen.

x

x

Charley wasn't sure why she had decided from all the vehicles in the garage to take the tank truck. Maybe it could come in handy after the little rescue operation. She had peaked inside the tank and noticing it empty. She had found shitloads of army blankets from one of the trucks and threw them inside the tank. It should be comfortable enough for the rebels to ride through the desert for an hour or two... The truck made a roaring sound as it came to life and slowly she got the truck moving. She drove slowly as she grabbed the walky-talkie.

"Hey, guys! Is this the right frequency?"

"Hey...! Sweetheart! You got the truck, doll?" Vinnie's voice asked.

"I got THE truck, yeah..." Charley smiled.

"Where do I drive with this thing?"

She soon heard Stoker's voice via radio.

"Just along the hallway, you'll come across the big hall where the wounded fighters are waiting! The ceilings are high on this floor, it should be no problem to get the truck there...! We're currently trying to buy you some time...!"

"Okay-dokie! See you in a few!" Charley stepped on the gas an the truck roared again.

x

x

Throttle came into the big hall with Rig still walking before him. He noticed his bike parked near their freed comrades who were now some lying on the floor, clearly not able to stand up because of their injuries and some standing on guard. There were also a big bunch of Rig's soldiers, all tied up, sitting their backs against the walls. The soldiers were currently shouting insults to the Fighters who were shouting back. And the whole scene was placed above a huge black circle the bomb had left on the floor. Rig made a sudden halt as he took the scene in but continued his walk as he felt the tip of the gun tapping his back.

"You have an insurance...?" Throttle asked smiling, as they heard firing somewhere in the building and then noises as something was crumbling all around them, like the building was slowly dying.

Rig remained silent as he limped towards the Fighters. Throttle sighed as he was in the talking distance from the familiar faces and a brown furred female with long hair in a ponytail came to pat Throttle on the back.

"Heyyy...Throttle! Welcome back to Mars!"

"Yeah, you surely got us a welcome party waiting for us, Maico!" Throttle nodded and tapped the woman on her shoulder.

"What can I say, it ain't a party if ya can't smell the napalm!" Maico smirked back, holding the gun up. Throttle then shoved Rig towards her.

"Here's a little present...Sorry if it's not wrapped up nicely. I heard through the radio that the truck should be here any m..." But he got interrupted as they heard a loud honk and they raised their looks and saw a tank truck racing towards them along the hallway.

"Oh, well, scratch that, I guess it's already here..."

Maico walked back to the other comrades, hitting Rig on the back with her gun, making him walk forward.

"Okay, bros! The ride's here! Help the wounded brothers inside the truck! Let's get the hell outta here!" She raised her voice.

Charley stopped the tank truck but left it running as she stepped out of it and walked towards Throttle who looked happy to see their friend from Earth coming out of the cabin of the truck. (Well, he weren't the only one looking into her direction since a little silence fell over the place as the other Martians caught a glimpse on the Earthling as well.) Throttle's expression changed into a smirk.

"Travellin' with style, Charley-girl?"

Charley gave the tan furred male a hug.

"Thank god, you're all safe!"

"Ya missed us already?"

Charley was to comment something sarcastic but decided to be truthful and nodded at the tan furred male.

"I did. Terribly."

They heard bikes' engines and soon Stoker, Rimfire, Modo and Vinnie parked their bikes next to them.

"What's that?" Rimfire asked raising an eyebrow, looking at the massive truck.

"Well, ya wanted a getaway car, right?" Charley asked while quickly grabbing Modo into a big hug.

"Ahaha! Can this girl cook or what?!" Vinnie made a cry. They all went to help the wounded soldiers in the back of the tank, on top of the pile of army blankets, before the Fighters who were in a better shape stepped inside of the tank, too. They left the tied soldiers behind but shoved Rig into the tank as well. They could need him still. Maico tapped Charley on her shoulder.

"Shotgun!" And she ran to jump on the truck's cabin.

Charley gave the guys a smirk.

"I guess we'll be heading out then...?"

"Hold on, what we're doing with her?" Hudson said as he walked up to Stoker, having a hold of Mina's arm.

"Found her sneaking around the corner...She made a deal with the enemy..." He growled.

"No, please...I didn't tell them anything!" Mina pleaded and Modo got off his bike.

"She helped me to free the comrades, Stoker."

Stoker had a pondering look on his face as his eyes were observing the wary looking tan furred female who was avoiding his eye contact.

"Get her in the truck. We can deal with her once we get back to the Base." Stoker then said and turned his back on Mina who had tears in her eyes.

"Ya can let her go, she ain't goin' anywhere, bro..." Modo gave Hudson a stern look, his eye blinking once. Hudson observed Modo a second and then nodded and let Mina go.

"Fine. You, this way." Hudson growled at Mina who obediently followed him to the truck. Stoker got on his bike again.

"We'll drive through the garage...Let's go, comrades! Before there comes more trouble!" Stoker shouted as the five revved their bikes and Charley hopped in the truck and started to manouver the truck with ease towards the garage again.

Stoker gave Vinnie a smirk.

"No offense, kid, but your girlfriend's cooler than you...!"

"What?! No way...! Wait, my what?! Hey, wait up...!" Vinnie speeded his bike to hurry to catch the old commander. They drove through the garage and a ramp opened up to bring them to the dark Martian desert again.

"May I ask how do we fit the tank truck inside the base?" Throttle asked Stoker who only gave one of his trademark sly smiles back.


	19. Chapter 19: The New Headquarters

Hey folks!

Thank you so much for the reviews and nice to see a new name there, also! A special thank you to all of you who have been giving the reviews chapter after chapter! It's nice to hear that you are enjoying this story! The only interaction I have with the ones reading this are the reviews you're posting so it means a lot if you can write a line or two.

Anyway, I've been sick for a few days so I've had plenty of time to write so I'm having material ready for the next chapter already, it again needs a bit polishing before uploading the chapter here...

Also thinking that maybe this part of the story will be over in a couple of chapters, but don't worry the "saga" will continue but perhaps I'm starting a new story... Just so this thing won't be having like 100 chapters in the end...! But let me know what do you guys think!

So, here's another chapter for you all out there! Enjoy!

-SpaceFlora

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Nineteen**

 **The New Headquarters**

The escape caravan had driven almost an hour and even they'd been looking back constantly they hadn't seen anyone following them. Well, they did trash the government's desert base pretty good and also fought against as many soldiers as they could. Maybe they had won this round. The desert was empty except the occasional Sabre Squids hunting somewhere further away. The sun had started to set and the typical Martian cold, blue aerole around the setting Sun was seen. Charley gave the sunset a look while driving the truck.

"That is so weird...The sunset, it's blue...!"

"Yeah...It is" Maico talked uninterestedly while sitting in the cabin of the truck with the Earthling. She was polishing her gun, merely giving glances at the sunset.

"On Earth, it's in the shades of orange and red..." Charley explained to the brown furred, ponytailed female.

"Yeah? That sounds beautiful..." Maico gave the mechanic a look.

"It is..." Charley sighed but hurried to continue.

"Nothing wrong with blue of course...! I just never thought that the sunset could be this different on another planet..."

"Well, I've heard about Earth and seen how it looks like from the documents broadcasted here on Mars. It looks so awsome, so green... Everything in that planet's just so...alive and vibrant! You've got the forests, the seas, the meadows... We're only having this..." Maico sighed looking out of the truck window the rapidly darkening view of the Martian desert, with its' dunes and rocks, the red sand and the the Mount Olympos seeing in the distance.

"Sometimes...When the war was raging and we were out there fighting... I had these moments when I looked around and just thought that... What are we fighting for? All seems so dead and lost..." Maico talked now mainly to herself. Charley gave her a quick look before returning her gaze back to the desert view opening infront of her. She was driving to where ever the five bikes' headlamps were showing around the truck. Stoker was driving in the front of the formation, Vinnie and Throttle on the truck's left side and Modo and Rimfire on the right side.

x

x

The VidCom informed about an upcoming call and Harley jumped to sit on the chair infront of the screen, swinging her legs over the handrests and pressed the button.

"Hey, there Miss H...!" Stoker smirked as his face appeared in the screen.

"Well, hello there, Commander! What can I do for you?" Harley smiled back.

"Well, you could put the evacuation plan no. 3 rollin', if you please?"

"Evacuation plan no.3...? So that means that..."

"It's time to move into the bigger facilites since from now on, there's gonna be a lot more of us. One bathroom's ain't gonna cut it anymore..." Stoker smirked.

"You found them? The lost comrades? Are they okay?"

"Well, we found the ones who could be found at least. Some of the comrades are hurt. Tell the doc to gather her stuff and show her the new medical facilities... She'll have her hands full for the next few days. We'll be there in 30 minutes, think you can make it all ready for us in that time?"

"Consider it done!" Harley saluted with a smirk and Stoker raised his eyebrow.

"You're the best, H! I've said it before and I'll say it again...!"

"Don't worry, Stoke, I won't get bored of hearing that!" Harley winked and then ended the call, got up and rushed to the kitchen where Aprilia and Beretta were trying to find something else to eat besides the protein bars.

"Okay, ladies, time to hustle!"

"What's the hurry all of a sudden? They're getting back?" Beretta asked, slipping strands of her burgundy coloured hair behind her ear.

"Yup and in the mean time we have to move!"

"Move? Where...?" Aprilia asked confused but Harley was already gone from the little kitchen area.

"Talk while walkin', ladies...! Talk while walkin'! We're in a rush!"

"Right, sorry... So, where are we moving?!" Aprilia raised her voice as she and Beretta rushed after the mechanic.

"Next door. Come on now!" Harley urged them as the other two tried to keep up with her fast pace.

"Next door?!" The females asked in unison and stepped into the garage after Harley who was already beside a big shelf unit.

"Come and help me move this out of the way..!"

Aprilia and Beretta grabbed the sides of the big shelf as well. It was heavy and packed with gun and bike parts.

"Wouldn't it be easier to move this thing if we unloaded the stuff off the shelves first...?" Beretta grunted trying to make the shelf move.

"Did I mention already we were in a hurry?" Harley snapped at her and Beretta gave her a glance back. She knew Harley didn't care for her for that much, usually not even letting her come into the garage, and she wasn't concerned of letting her know that too. Once the shelf was moved away from the wall, Aprilia and Beretta looked at the wall made out of concrete behind it which was little odd since the building itself was made out of steel.

"Now what?" Aprilia asked but had to jump out of the way as Harley attacked the wall with a big sledge hammer.

"For Deimos' sake!" Aprilia cursed after her heart skipped a beat. Harley hit the concrete wall a couple of times with the sledge hammer using all her force and the material started to crumble off and soon a passageway onto the other side was revealed. When there was a hole big enough for a person to walk through Harley put down the sledge hammer and wiped the sweat off her forehead, leaning against the wall, pointing at it while giving the other two a look.

"Okay, so, surprise you guys, there's the New Headquarters..."

Aprilia and Beretta peaked through the hole but Harley was already inside and ran along the passageway. She turned around to give the two women a look.

"C'mon! There's coming a bunch of injured Fighters any minute now! I'll show you the medical facilities!"

Aprilia was to go after her but then noticed Beretta leaving behind.

"Hey, I'll need your help there...! You used to serve as a medic during the war, as well!"

"Used to, yeah..."

"Beretta, you're my friend, but if you're refusing to help the ones who need the medical aid even if you'd know how, I'll not speak to you ever again. A doctor can't let her feelings rule their actions. We're helping people, whether they were on our side or not and whether we liked the person or not." Aprilia's voice was strict as she regarded her friend who seemed to go an inner battle whether to do as she was urged to or not. The golden furred female then sighed, taking a ponytail from her pocket and tying her burgundy hair on top of her head.

"Fine. But just because they're your friends...I will do this for you."

"No." Aprilia shook her head and gave Beretta the medical bag from the garage table.

"You're doing it for yourself." And she then rushed after Harley.

As they reached the mechanic, she was in a garage that was a way bigger than the last one, the ceiling rising high above them. The lights all around them still flickering after Harley had just turned them on. In the garage there were a row of motorcycles and other vehicles as well, still leaving a lot of space in the middle of it all. Everything was surrounded by tools and mechanical parts. In the back of the garage there was a smaller room that had guns and ammos stored.

The women didn't have much time to look around since Harley showed them to follow her and they walked a short hallway before they came into a room that was filled with medical stuff and eight hospital beds. Aprilia's dark eyes grew bigger as she was gazing around her.

"This is your kingdom from now on, Aprilia...I guess you better start taking stuff ready since the guys'll be here any minute now..." Harley talked and then turned her look to Beretta who was still carrying the medical bag Aprilia had shoved to her.

"So, you wanna help? Do something useful with your time here, for a change?"

Beretta only gave her a bored look back, not willing to dignify that attitude with an answer.

"That's good to hear. Really. We're thankful for that." Harley's look turned softer but before Beretta could say anything the mechanic left back to the garage as they heard the heavy steel doors starting to slid aside in there. Five motorcycles drove inside and after them came a tank truck.

The large hatch in the back of the tank got opened and a bunch of Fighters jumped out and started to help the injured Fighters off the tank as well. Some of the injured had to be carried towards the infirmary. Aprilia and Beretta rushed to help the wounded as they were laid on the beds. Aprilia rubbed disinfective gel to her hands before turning to the first patient that had already collapsed from the dehydration.

"Beretta, try to find as many saline drips as you possibly can...!" She gave an order giving a quick look to the garage's direction to maybe get a glimpse on a certain grey furred giant but couldn't see anything except more injured been brought into the infirmary.

x

x

Stoker took a few of the guns they'd gotten from the soldiers, well stolen really. But the government should have the money to replace them without a problem, the benefits of corruption, usually it meant money and a lots of it. He laid the guns to rest against his shoulders and gave Throttle a look.

"Almost forgot: Welcome to the New Headquarters, punk!"

Throttle tried to hid his smile as he helped him to carry guns to the gun storage in the back of the big garage. He put the guns on the table there, taking the magazines off the guns. No need to keep the guns loaded and the bullets in.

"You're always one step ahead of everyone, coach..." He then talked.

"I'm miles ahead." Stoker flashed a grin. As they walked back to the truck, Throttle remembered the metal box he had picked up from the secret base.

"Listen, I'll have some news to tell you, Stoker...See you in a few..." He said to him as the brown furred mentor only nodded back, continuing his way towards the Medical facilites to check on the injured Fighters. Throttle went to pick up the box behind his bike and then walked to Modo who was helping Mina out of the truck.

"Hey, Big Fella'...! Ah got ya lil' something..." Throttle said with a wide smile and threw him the box. Modo nearly dropped the box since it was an odd shape to grab from the air with only one arm.

"What is it?" He asked putting the box on the ground and kneeling down beside it, opening it.

"My arm...! Where did ya find it?"

"Well, I guess it was on its' way to the government's technology lab to be tested...We don't wanna any others to sport a lethal arm now do we...?" Throttle raised his eyebrow with a smirk and then noticed Hudson with another male walking towards their direction and Hudson gave Mina a nod.

"Okay, Mina...You're not off the hook yet... Stoker wants you to be locked up before he comes to a solution what to do with you..."

"Locked up?" Modo got up his eye flashing red, standing next to the nearly as tall male mouse.

"Hey, you got a problem, adress it to the commander..." Hudson only responded and Mina gave Modo a look.

"It's okay...I did betray you, you have no reason to trust me...I get it." Mina turned her look to the dark grey furred Hudson who stood there his arms crossed.

"That's right, now come along with us...You're lucky you'll get a room instead of a cold concrete cell, even though I think it would've suited a traitor just fine..." Hudson grabbed her by her shoulder but not as forcefully as he would have wanted since Modo's figure was towering next to them, clearly not happy about this decision. Hudson knew that Modo would have no problem to show his opinion in a rather physical manner if it came to that. He and Modo had been sharing a few differencies of an opinion in the past, leaving their unfortunate surroundings usually in a state of destruction.

x

x

Vinnie was talking his hands dancing in the air, as he was recalling or rewriting the glorious moments back in the government's secret desert base while Charley was trying to look any scratches or damages on the red racer next to them.

"Oh man, I was unbelievable back there...! First they were all boom, boom, boom, boom, boom...! And then I was like ratatatatattattttttattaa...! They didn't know what hit them! I mean I just can't help it for been the baddest mammajammer in this whole Galaxy...!"

"Like you can't help it to have the biggest mouth in the Galaxy as well..."

"Well, now you're just exaggerating, Sweetheart..." Vinnie snorted but clearly not offended.

Charley rolled her eyes and got up.

"The bike's fine, unbelivably so..."

Vinnie gave her a smirk but then his expression turned to be a little shy as he scratched his neck, looking around them.

"Sweetheart... Listen...I...I'm glad that you're here."

Charley smiled back.

"I'm glad that I'm here too...And that my three fur brains are all okay!" Her smile then faltered a bit after seeing the white furred male's troubled look.

"I guess I also want to say that I'm sorry for...you know...When we left Earth I might not have said the right things in that moment..."

Charley gave a chuckle.

"You mean, like hitting me on my arm and shouting "Later, dude!"..?" She changed her voice to imitate Vinnie's high-pitch cry.

"Yes...For example..." Vinnie stared at the floor, kicking the hard ground underneath them with his boot, his whole demeanor radiating with uncharacteristic bashfulness.

Charley's lips curled into a smile. She looked around them but then concentrating on Vinnie again. Okay, so maybe the moment had comen for them to talk the things through...Oh man.

"Look...After you sent me that message...I'm sorry I didn't answer to it right away...It's just..."

Vinnie's ears twitched nervously an he had hard time looking at the Earthling. Charley took a step forward but they got interrupted as one of the rescued Fighters walked to them.

"Hey, Vinnie the Kid...! Wanna introduce the new face...?" A tanned furred male with a ginger short mohawk asked while walking ahead of the gang of Fighters who came curiously meet the Earthling.

Vinnie crossed his arms, giving a loud and irritated huff.

"Man, some people just have the worst timing...!"

He then vaguely pointed towards the crowd of Fighters.

"Charley, meet all, all meet Charley..."

The Fighters gathered around her to look at her small figure, her hairless skin, her face that was so different from theirs, no muzzle, no buckteeth... How could she hear anything with those small ears and how on Mars was she able to keep her balance without a tail? Even though the Martians had used the Earth's satellites to broadcast the movies and TV series to Mars and every Martian knew what a Earthling looked like, it was still weird to see one alive infront of them. The Fighters started to fire questions at her enthusiastically, about her, about what she was doing in here, how she had gotten in here and about Earth. Charley answered their questions with a good humour. She was also a bit disappointent that her's and Vinnie's moment had been cut off but they'd have plenty of time to talk. They were in the middle of a desert, on Mars, over 50 million kilometres from her home planet. She definately had the time to decide what she was going to do. Yes, she was here now but that didn't mean that she would stay here forever.

x

x

"There's one patient...or I guess a hostage is a better term to describe the man since he's tied up... He has a shot wound on his leg." Beretta came to tell Aprilia who nodded and walked over the bed but stopped on her tracks, her eyes becoming wide as she saw the ex-Major Rig lying on the hospital bed, cursing to himself, clearly in pain. Aprilia took a deep breath and walked to his side, starting to examine the leg. Rig made a cry of pain and shot an irritated look on Aprilia but recognized now the doctor who tried to avoid his eye contact. Rig himself clearly wasn't amused to see her again either.

"The gods do have a sense of humor..." He then muttered before looking away.

"Well, I'm not laughing..." Aprilia talked under her breath.

"Right... Clearly it was a mistake to leave any of you breathing, I should've just wipe you all out while I had the chance...So, how d'ya like that pretty necklace I gave you...?" He then asked, turning his crude look back on Aprilia, his eyes catching the purple hues she still had around her neck. Aprilia's breath got caught, and she gave him a quick glance.

"Only a little more power and the neck would've gone snap!" Rig quietly whispered, raising an eyebrow at her. Aprilia turned away and left his bedside.

"Get the bullet out of his thigh, won't ya?" She blurted to Beretta who looked after her quizically. Aprilia went to the garage to get her thoughts in order and her breath stabilized. Seen the man who had attacked her back in the hospital had triggered memories from a few days ago. She had told to Beretta that doctor has to leave her emotions aside but here she was tangled up in her own emotions herself. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her breath.

She suddenly felt a light brush against her calf, as a tail suddenly curled around it. She could feel Modo's precense and then an arm gently wrapped around her waist, and she felt him nuzzling her head. She gave a deep sigh, a calmness washing through her. Aprilia could feel him wanting to enter her mind, getting the ensurance she was okay. She let her mental guard down and let the big grey male feel that she was alright through the telepathic waves.

"Is it too much for you? To be back here?" She heard a soft rumble before she opened her eyes and turned her look up to meet Modo's worried expression. He looked a bit worned-down and tired after their battle and time spent in captivity, they hardly had had any sleep during that whole time.

"No, no..." She now felt a smile curl around her lips as she could tell he was alive atleast but then it disappeared as she saw that he was missing his right arm, just like Vinnie had already informed her earlier. He still had his hoodie on so she couldn't see to what extent he was hurt but it didn't reduce her worry.

"Baby, your arm..."

"That's okay, Ah got it back but Ah think it needs a bit engireer work to place back, though, some of the cords are cut and all..."

Aprilia wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her face against his stomach, inhaling his pleasant musky smell, now mixed with the smell of gunpowder and dirt. She closed her eyes and her tail curled around his calf.

"Can we be like this forever..?" She sighed.

Modo stroked her head, slipping strands of hair behind her ear and stroked her cheek.

"Ah wouldn't mind that, darlin'..." He murmured and then bent down to give her a kiss. She answered the kiss, feeling his a bit coarser fur against her softer one. After the brief kiss Modo let his eye wander on her, tracing her fine fur on her cheek with his finger tips before finally ghosting on the bruises around her neck area where the purple hues had already started to fade away a little. She could sense his mood starting to change and his muscles to tense and Aprilia took his hand.

"It's okay, love...Really, I'm fine..."

"Ah can't believe that crummy rat is now here...We should've leave him there, let him bleed to death." Modo growled his eye then flashing red. Aprilia stroked his side.

"No, we're not like that, remember?"

Modo didn't look convinced as his mind was quickly going through possible scenarios what to do with Rig once he got his hands on him.

"Modo. Seriously, violance doesn't change anything. I don't want you to get all caught up with this, let's just leave it behind us, alright?" Aprilia regarded his face.

Modo swallowed, trying to push aside all the dark thoughts that had now gathered inside his mind. He would've liked to stay on his best behaviour since they were finally together again but he couldn't help that his eye gave away his current mood. And for the violance part... He knew what she meant but he was a soldier, violance usually did change something in the battlefields. They were taught to respond to a certain triggers with certain type of behaviour. After the war and the numerous battles, it had become almost an automatic function. It was hard to handle things differently when it came to the everyday life, to switch off an entire behaviour pattern. Their normal way of dealing things out there usually was a bit rough mannered to put it mildly.

But, they weren't in the battlefield at the moment, there were civilians around them and the base should work as a sort of a safe haven for them after all the fighting so to bring such energy and action inside these walls...Would not work. And the Freedom Fighters did not torture people for fun, they didn't kill people in cold blood and they did not beat people into pulp no matter how much the person would've deserved it. He knew it was a fine line the one they were all walking with his comrades and easily to be crossed. He knew many men who had snapped under the pressure and turned into cold blooded killers.

No. He would just have to let it go and let the justice happen in another way than physical violance. Just like she had suggested. He felt her touch on his arm and gave her a look, he must've been drifted on with his thoughts.

"Promise me, you won't harm him." Her dark eyes met his still pondering look but he finally gave a sigh.

"Ah promise... But only if you promise to tell me if and when he's giving you anymore trouble and Ah'll have a little chat with him. Ah can be very persuasive." He lowered his voice. Aprilia nodded back giving him a smile before there was some shouting heard coming from the medical facilities and then Beretta's sharp voice ordering the patient to lie still. Aprilia turned her look briefly to that direction before concentrating on Modo again.

"I better get back..."

"Yeah, and Ah guess Ah better call Mommah...Before she'll accuse me again for never callin' her..." Modo wondered.

"Take Rimfire with ya, she would like to hear from her grandson, too..." Aprilia told him and he nodded back. He stroked her chin with his index finger, Aprilia closed her eyes and kissed the finger before giving him a joyful smile back, her eyes sparkling.

"See ya later, doc..." Modo rumbled, raising his eyebrow a little, sending Aprilia the goosebumps all over her.

"Later, soldier..." She smiled back but continued with a more strict tone.

"Oh, and Modo... After the call you come straight to the medical wing so I can check your injuries, got that...?"

Modo took a few step backwards still keeping his eye on her.

"If ya insist..."

"I do insist."

He gave her a smile before turning his look to the bunch of Fighters who had been gathered around Charley to ask questions from this female alien and just to be in her precense. Rimfire was hanging in there too, laughing at Charley's expression as all that attention had gotten her a bit abashed. Modo whistled towards the group.

"Hey, kid!" He hollored and Rimfire raised his look, taking a few steps towards his uncle.

"I told ya not to call me that anymore...!" He muttered but his uncle only swung his arm around the kid.

"Then stop respondin' to it...!" He laughed as he was leading his nephew towards the nearest VidCom.

x

x

Stoker sighed and crossed his arms over his chest a rare worried expression on his features. Throttle was with him in the monitor room, sitting on a chair his look evenly grim.

"So, Carbine will have to face the military tribunal...?"

"Yup. And I've got a feeling that it's not gonna be a merciful one. Since this government's thriven by lies and corruption and they hate the Fighters, they'll want to send her to prison or worse for her actions..." Throttle muttered. Stoker leaned against one of the monitors.

"Well, we can't let that happen... We'll have to do something..."

"Like break into the military base where they're propably having her locked up as we speak..?"

"No, we can't always just break into buildings, last time was a close call for us and anyway half of the Fighters we found and freed are not in any shape to battle anytime soon... And I'm not comfortable with the idea of us fighting against the Army. No, it has to be done in some other way...I'm hoping that one day this planet's gonna be just and free but it's not gonna happen any time soon, she'll be destroyed if she has to go through the trials..."

Throttle gave a deep sigh and leaned forward on the chair, running his hands across his face. He adjusted his glasses.

"Sense of justice is a bitch, hu...?"

"Yes. Nothing's more dangerous as a person who stands up against the authority and asks for justice." Stoker replied.


	20. Chapter 20: 50 Million Kilometres from

Hello all!

So, I was already writing another chapter but then I just had to write this next little chapter first...

The next chapter is from Charley's point of view as she's strolling around the new Headquarters. Her thoughts and observations... And many of them will be explained later on...

So, it's a bit shorter chapter but I guess, it's okay...

Hope you guys like it and again, a big thank you for all the reviews and to all the readers out there!

-SpaceFlora

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Twenty**

 **50 Million Kilometres from Home**

It was so weird. To be here on Mars. Sure Charley had been here once before but it had been a rather short trip and the lives of her and her three furry friends' had been in a danger so she hadn't had the time to take in the sceneries around her or even really comprehend that she was infact on a strange planet. She remembered the red sand. And lots of it. But not much more.

But now she had all the time in the world to really explore her surroundings, well inside the new Headquarters that is since it was concidered too risky to go outside now after their flee from the secret desert base. And to go outside alone would be a big no-no in the future still. So, she decided to make the most of it while staying under the ground and go check the Headquarters.

In the first floor of this "new side" there was the spacious garage, the medical facilites and the gym. As one took the stairs up there were the big dining area where were a few long wooden tables along with as long benches beside them. A small kitchen area was on the back. While continuing the hallway one will find the sleeping quarters with bunk beds. The male mice would sleep in there from now on since Stoker had suggested that the females (which there were only a handful) could have the small rooms in the "old part" of the Headquarters and everyone had agreed with him.

She had spent a lot of time going through the shelves in the garage, her eyes gleeming and her hands grabbing every single item she saw, her mind racing while going through all the possibilites with this new and better technology now on her reach. It was a miracle that with this highly developed technology still many things were looking far more "rustic" here, so to speak. Maybe it was because of the new side of the Headquarters been dug into the beautiful earthy shade of rock. Maybe it was because the decor in there, that was pretty weird in some sense. Not that it was overly decorated the place, it still was the Headquarters, the base of the armed resistance group. But there were a few big old cloths hanging on the wall in the dining room area, where clearly there was depicted some sort of mystical tale from the old times or maybe it was depicting the religion or the gods, she didn't know since she wasn't an expert on the Martian culture. Also the long wooden tables and benches looked old, like they were actually handcarved. The plates and mugs they were using were made out of red clay...Just to name a few things that left the little rustic vibe in there. Charley decided that she'll ask more about the Martian culture when it maybe was a better time for that, since the guys hadn't really revealed too much of it while staying on Earth. Maybe they had tought it'd be boring for her to hear about it or maybe they didn't see it relevant. To be fair, she hadn't even thought about asking earlier about their culture or religions, it had always just been these little quirky moments when they had said or done something weird but she had decided not to ask so they wouldn't get offended or hurt.

While taking the tourist tour in the Headquarters, she had also peaked inside the bathrooms with sonic showers and the toilettes which were looking bizarre. It came to her mind how she had shown and explained to the mice how everything worked during their first week on Earth. She remembered their paniced expressions while she had showed them how to turn the shower on and the water had splashed through the nozzle. Of course, the mice had been accustomed to live on a planet where there had not been found water in ages from the top of the ground. To get water to drink they had to turn the water vapor to water again, when the air was in its' most humid, mainly during the mornings. It was laborious thing to collect enough water like that and it meant they only used water for drinking. Everything else they'd come up with a different solution, like washing the dishes, showers etc.

The lack of doors had caught her eyes while walking around the Headquarters. The doors weren't that common in the Martian culture since been a breed with the clan past, there wasn't really a need for privacy in a sense that they didn't crave for the alonetime in such a way an Earthling might. They rather searched the company of others. As long as the others were considered family, in a very extended sense, too. And she could tell that the Fighters had grown into a close-knit family. It all made much more sense to her now that she saw how they all acted around each other. She remembered that after the guys had crashlanded on Earth and after they could see she could be trusted, she hadn't really had alone time after that. Only when she was sleeping and even then she could wake up in the middle of night just to find one of the three bros sleeping in the garage, like making sure she was okay and not alone. The mice had seemed a bit taken back by the fact that she had told them that she would live and sleep there all alone and also that her parents had died some years ago and she really wasn't that close to the rest of her family.

Charley had also been thinking how the guys never seemed to get bored with each other's company, been together nearly 24/7...But like said before, it all made sense now. The Fighters were all usually hanging in the relatively same area, even if they were eating, playing, polishing bikes, practising or just chilling out and reading, they rarely did that alone. They didn't have to talk the whole time, they just wanted to be in the presence of the others. She could see how relaxed they felt around each other. And while been together she could see there was a lot of reassuring touching happening, whether it was a hand resting on each other's backs and shoulders or a tail briefly curling around each other's ankles. They didn't seem to mind nor even realize this behaviour and it almost felt automatic. Charley remembered that had been happening a lot to her also when they were on Earth. First she had nearly jumped everytime she had felt a brief touch on her back, shoulder or ankle but then as the time had gone by she had gotten used to it.

She had spent some time just watching the mice, secretly observing them from the corner of her eyes. The Martian Cave Mice males were much bigger than the females. She hadn't really seen any other female Cave Mouse beside Carbine before but now that there were also Harley, Aprilia, Mina (even though she quickly had been locked up after their arrival on the Headquarters), Beretta and Maico. She could now see how much bigger in average the males were compared to the females, although especially the female Fighters didn't really strike as feebles themselves, their slender bodies clearly been trained. Many of the males were standing as tall as Vinnie and Throttle and only a few could nearly reach Modo's height. Most of the females were somewhat as tall as Charley but Aprilia and Mina were shorter.

Her mind had started to run towards a certain white furred hunk of male who she had been delibaretly trying to avoid, wanting to really think things through herself before encountering him. She mused that the whole situation would be awkward enough without her stammering her words or talking nonsense. She started to think how it might be different to date a Martian Cave Mouse instead of a regular guy on Earth. Despite the obvious ofcourse. He had been secrectly observing the only lovebirds she now knew in the base, Modo and Aprilia. Trying to detect some odd behaviour but there wasn't anything that would seem different from a relationship between two Earthlings, despite their tales ofcourse that were curling around each other's limbs from time to time. And also their antennae that seemed to have a faint and quick glow every once and awhile while been together. Were they using telepathy with each other? Were they exchanging thoughts or just getting reassurance that the other was okay? The more she tried to think it the more it started to dawn on her that she might not be the right for Vinnie. She wasn't a Cave Mouse with telepathic abilities. Maybe she would never be enough. She didn't want him to have less than he'd deserve, less than the Cave Mice were capable of giving. She just might not be enough no matter how much she would've tried to be more.

Damn it. This all was starting to get very confusing. Maybe this all was just a bit too much for her.


	21. Chapter 21: The Dark Hours and

_Hello!_

 _Oh my, it's finally done... This chapter, I thought I'll never get to post it..._

 _Sorry for the little delay, I definately can see a pattern here... Since everytime I'm saying things like "I'm already doing the next chapter" or "only final touches and I'll be uploading the next chapter..." Somehow it always ends up like this: Me writing everything from the scratch, changing everything and the process takes many many days..._

 _But this was a tricky chapter...A lot of emotions in it and one scene changed into a totally different one! That is what happens when you're reading things again and then you decide that it's all wrong and you have to make the changes..._

 _And even if I've been writing these scenes over and over again and triple-checked the grammar I can't promise there won't be any mistakes, and I do apologize in advantage if there are some spelling errors!_

 _Okay, on with the story..! There has been a lot of requests about certain something and I promise that there'll be somekinda closer in this chapter. Hope you guys like it!_

 _And a very big thanks for you all out there reading and reviewing this story! Warms my heart!_

 _Thank you so much and until next time!_

 _-SpaceFlora_

 _p.s. I think there'll be one more chapter coming to this story and then I'll start to write another one, just so this won't be having 100 chapter in the end... And I feel like the "beginning" of the bigger storyline has soon comen to an end..._

 _x_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Twenty One**

 **The Dark Hours and the Blue Sunsets  
**

Charley hunched over the mind control machine, studying it, surrounded by tools. Suddenly she heard a voice and got startled.

"You're working over-time here on Mars too?"

She gave the tan furred male a look.

"Oh, hi Throttle, didn't hear you coming..."

"It's already past midnight, I thought that you'd be asleep by now..." Throttle said leaning against the table with his palms.

"Well, I had to clear my head and working with the machines has always helped me with that so...Harley showed me this curious thing and told I could give it a shot and try to open the machine, study it...She said she already had enough work..."

Throttle observed the auburn haired mechanic.

"What's troubling your mind, Charley-girl?" He asked and then took a seat by the table, too.

Charley sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"This. All of this. Mars. Life..."

She turned her look on the tan furred male.

"You don't happen to have any answers, do you...?" She asked with a slight smile.

"Not for this one, Charley-girl, I'm afraid... You have to figure this one by yourself."

"Thanks..."

"That been said...I think you should maybe talk to him about this all." Throttle continued talking. The Earthling raised her look.

"Him?"

"Vincent."

"Well, he's propably the last person who's having any answers to anything..." Charley gave a laugh, nonchalantly, turning to the machine again. Throttle observed her movements, her sudden withdrawal from the conversation.

"I think that in this case, you two might need to talk things through..." He carefully continued.

"What do you mean?" Charley asked innocently.

"Because you two love each other." Throttle blurted out and Charley nearly dropped the tool she was holding. There was a hint of fear and defeat on her expression but she quickly covered from the sudden words and quickly shrugged her shoulders, avoiding his look.

"That's not...I wouldn't say..." It was still a hard task for her to come up with a come back line and she pretended to be concentrated on the machine infront of her.

"Oh, c'mon it doesn't exactly take an empath or even the telepathic abilities to get the vibes you're sending to each other...Not to even start with you travelling fifty million kilometers to make sure he was okay." Throttle smirked back, sitting in a relaxed way, his arms crossed over his chest. Charley tried to find an argument, any argument to throw at him, her mouth opening and closing many times but the words didn't come out. In the end she didn't want to lie to him or even had the energy to act anymore. She was just exhausted and tired and confused with this revelation she only now had slowly started to admit even to herself. That she infact did have very strong feelings towards the hyper-active hot head. She sighed loudly and leaned on to her palms.

"Oh my God...This really is a mess..."

She peaked through the fingers at the tan furred male.

"You...knew about it...? I mean, you and Modo...This whole time...?"

"Charley-girl, everyone knows."

"Oh no..." Charley hid her face again. Throttle chuckled lightly and got up and then gently massaged her tense shoulders a couple of times.

"Just remember, whatever you'll decide, I'm behind you 100 percent, Charley-girl..." He squeezed her shoulders gently one more time.

"Thanks." Charley answered. Well, that was all she could say in this point since right now her mind seemed a bit blank. But she knew he meant it and she really did appreciate it. Throttle and Modo were like the big brothers she never had. Be that big furry big brothers from outer space. As Throttle had left the monitor room, she turned her look back on the machine. Carefully she touched the metallic antennae protruding from the machine, gently pushing them back and while slightly increasing the power there was a click and the antennae fell back, on hinges, revealing the inside of the machine, with the microcircuits and all. She gave a huff. Yeah, the answers always are infront of you, you're usually just too stubborn or blind to see them.

x

x

"So, the eardrum just magically got ruptured, hu...?" Aprilia talked while she and Modo walked towards the little nook in the infirmary where they would have a little more privacy.

"Yeah, the dangers of this business, Ah guess..." Modo talked innocently, giving a yawn. It was past 1 o'clock in the night already.

"Aha..." She smiled back but then noticed Beretta using the computer in the little nook, by the table.

"Oh, you're here..." Aprilia said as Beretta raised her look at them.

"Yes, had to look up some facts..." Beretta answered as her eyes fell on Modo who was staying a little further from them two. The golden furred female then turned her eyes back to Aprilia again.

"Want me to leave...?"

"No, of course not.. If you're busy...I was just thinking about running a check-up for Modo in here...Since there's a bit more privacy in here, you know..."

Beretta rolled her eyes and then stood up taking a few files from the table, shooting a glance to Modo, who only nodded politely at her.

"Ma'am..."

But Beretta ignored this and gave Aprilia a glance.

"Yes, and conveniently no one can see you guys in here...Well, enjoy your privacy..." She muttered and left to the general area of the infirmary. Modo gave a look after her and then turned it to Aprilia.

"Do Ah sense a slight hostility...?"

Aprilia sighed deeply, placing her stethoscope on the table.

"Trust me, you don't wanna go there..."

She then ordered him to take a seat and take off his hoodie he was still wearing. He did as he was asked and once he had taken the ragged, ripped and dirty hoodie off he threw that straight into the trash bin nearby.

"Well, I was hoping that you won't be too attached to your old hoodie, since it looked like a health hazard..." Aprilia's lips curled into a smirk.

"Ah don't exactly own anything except my bike, guess that means it's difficult to become too attached on things anyway..." Modo joked. But it was true. Even if they had had some possession when living in the old Headquarters during the war then by now those were all gone or destroyed. And the things Aprilia had managed to salvage for him, he had thrown away as he had left her place in a hurry. Aside from their personal hand guns, bikes and the few extra pairs of clothes they've got from the Resistance, everything else they shared: books, playcards, mugs, food, bottle openers...

Aprilia started to examine his right side that was still missing the bionic arm. It would need a bit of work to get the arm attached again since some of the cords had been cut. Her fingers ghosted above the badly scarred right side.

"The scars are looking good, hair has started to grow back in many places..." Aprilia talked quietly as her fingertips lightly touched and stroked his coarse ash grey fur and the furless spots, sending pleasure jolts up and down Modo's spine. A smile appeared on Aprilia's face as she could feel the sensations he was feeling through her touch. She knew she was the only one who he let to touch his war injuries as he knew that she wouldn't see them as something unpleasant or gory. Aprilia turned her look on him and studied his ragged demeanour, his tired expression.

"You're okay, love?"

Their gazes briefly locked and he gave her a warm smile.

"Yeah, Ah'm fine... Just been a rough few days..." Modo rumbled, events from earlier that day rolling into his mind, the explosion, the men lying on the floors, blood, shouts...The images triggered a flood of old memories rapidly invading his mind. Bombs, fires, men lying around the desert, screaming like they were been eaten alive...The memories so alive he could almost smell the battlefield, since it really did have its' own specific smell. Gun powder and death. He usually could keep his thoughts in order and all the bad memories pushed aside, locked away but he was tired, having not been slept for many nights in a row, he just didn't have the strength to hold these memories back.

"Yes, I've been hearing all sorts of things from the other soldiers... You weren't given any food or water...Have you been eaten already?" Aprilia asked.

"No...Haven't had the time yet..." Modo answered quietly his thoughts somewhere else.

Aprilia sighed turning her attention on the cavities where the two short cords came out and one cavity remained empty since the cord was cut inside. She pressed around the area.

"Does it hurt?"

Modo only shook his head silently.

"Feeling feverish, dizzy or nauseous?"

Another shook of head.

"I better give you some antibiotics anyway...Gods know in what kind of dirt you've been crawling in there with your open wounds and all..." Aprilia thought out loud, cleaning the area with cotton wool dipped in antiseptic. She then rolled a long strip of gauze and started to tie it around his right side, covering the cavities.

"This is just before we're getting that arm back in its' place... So it won't get infected or anything...I know how cautious you guys can be..." She talked and as she was done she gave him another look but he remained silently staring at the desk infront of him. She could feel his demeanor tensing, his thoughts clearly taking a darker turn. She shook her head, biting her lower lip. She knew if she asked him what he was thinking he wouldn't tell her, trying to spare her from all the crazy shit the Fighters usually came across on daily bases. But quite frankly she was sick of it. She knew it wasn't doing him no good to wallow in his thoughts alone, it did no one good.

Not that she needed him to relive every horrible moment again, she didn't, but she knew that sometimes talking did help. And also knowing it was okay not to be okay all the time. Serving as a medic during the war she had been witnessing pretty disturbing things herself but she knew it was nothing compared to the things the soldiers had witnessed...or done. Aprilia knew all too well that the soldiers were most of them suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety, some were less some were more but they all did have their minds fucked up in one way or another. It felt ironic that in order to change the world in better, these soldiers had to become broken.

She didn't get to see Modo's pain too often since the Fighters were masters to disguise it, they hid it well into their care-free attitudes and joking. But when she did see that lost look in his eyes, in any soldier's eyes for that matter, it really hit her right in the heart. She knew they didn't exactly go through the things in their heads, they didn't talk about them, they didn't even want to acknowledge the things existed in the first place. Aprilia had been addressing her worries over this matter a couple of times to Stoker during the war but he had only replied that they didn't exactly have the time to visit shrinks which had left her pissed off since it was again another way to deny everything. To dismiss her worry, to ignore and belittle the whole matter.

She placed her hand on his tigh gently but even that got Modo nearly violently startled. Yup, his mind had been miles away...

"Sorry, love, it's just looked like you suddenly disappered..." Aprilia talked quietly as their eyes met. Modo looked away and ran his palm across his face, trying to push all the memories into some far away corner of his mind.

"Yeah, sorry... Just a few ugly memories, 's all..."

Aprilia sighed and hopped on the table, sitting now infront of him.

"Talk to me, love..."

Modo raised his look and studied her worried but determinated expression. He shook his head.

"No reason to spoil your good-night sleeps, darlin'..." He rumbled back with a slight smile, his tail curling around her leg.

"I don't sleep nowadays anyway..." Aprilia blurted, her eyes still on him. That answer got a huff from Modo who was leaning back on the chair, looking thoughtful.

"Come on, love, speak to me...Remember when I said that we're more stronger together...?" Aprilia whispered.

Modo's eye locked with hers. He was silent for awhile, pondering, the same time carefully stroking her calf with his tail. He really didn't want to do this now. His thoughts were all over the place. But looking into those eyes he really couldn't tell her "no" either...He cleared his throat.

"Ever since Ah was a kid Ah was taught that there was a line...Between good and bad, ya know..." Modo talked looking at his left hand's fingers fiddling the camouflage pant's fabric.

"...Ah guess that in some point that line's got a bit blurry..."

He became lost in his thoughts again for a little while and Aprilia shook her head.

"Modo, the things you do are done for the greater good, and in order to stay alive...You know that."

"Ah don't know if that makes them somehow more justified..."

Aprilia felt how confusion and anger started to grow inside him, she could sense it sitting this close to him. She quickly took his larger hand into her own smaller one.

"You're not a bad person, Modo..." Her voice was hurt, it hurt her to had to even remind him from that. Modo nodded back.

"Yeah, we're the good guys... Even though we're doing the same crimes as the enemy."

"No, love, listen to me..." Aprilia tried to keep her thoughts in order and find something to say, anything that would take his mind from the dark path it clearly was in. She could understand his logic but she knew that the whole thing was so much more bigger and complicated even though his mind was at the moment seeing things in black and white. She stroked his hand gently.

"War is crazy. It's absurd, senseless... What matters is your intentions and the Fighters are trying to make this world a better place. You're trying to fight for the people and for the justice and for the better future where people are not suffering. You can't be too hard on yourself, love."

Modo raised his look to meet her eyes. Aprilia looked back, her eyes now wet, tears prickling the corners of her eyes. Modo studied her face and then got up, pressing a kiss on her forehead.

"Ah'm sorry, darlin', didn't mean to upset you with all this..."

"I don't want you to say you're sorry. I want you to be able to talk to me, about everything, you know that." Aprilia whispered back. She felt his hand caressing her cheek, her neck. She closed her eyes briefly but then opened them and searched for his look.

"Ah know. But right now my mind's just all over the place... Ah think it's best if Ah go catch some sleep, clear my head...It doesn't do you any good to hang around with me when Ah'm in this state of mind..."

He then pressed a kiss on top of her head, nuzzling gently her blonde hair.

"Goodnight, darlin'." He walked away, leaving the little nook. Aprilia could hear his heavy steps becoming more distant and felt a tear running down her cheek.

x

x

Vinnie was walking the hallway to the old side of the Headquarters and once he came into the big hall with the monitors he spotted Charley who was still sitting by the table, hunched over the mind control machine, that was now been taken apart, parts and components scattered around her on the table. Vinnie took a deep breath and then continued his way towards her.

"Hey, Sweetheart... You're still awake?"

Charley raised her look and gave him a smile.

"Yeah...That's me... Uncurable work-a-holic, no matter on which planet I was..."

"You, eh... have come to a conclusion on which planet you're most likely to overload yourself with work..?" Vinnie tried to arreange the words and once done he immidiately thought it sounded weird, clumsy and stupid. Heck, what were the odds that for a such a talker it was this difficult to find the words...Suddenly a wave of uncertanty rushed through him and he laid his gaze on the floor, scratching his neck.

Charley stood up, straightening her shirt. She absent-mindedly thought that if she was going to stick around for much longer she needed to borrow some clothes. She crossed her arms and walked slowly towards the white furred mouse, also staring at the floor. Damn it, she was nervous.

"I haven't decided yet...I was thinking that maybe you could help me to come up with the right answer..." She then spoke in a careful voice, lifting her gaze, meeting his ruby red eyes.

The white furred mouse's tail moved in an agitated manner between them.

"Well...Do you like it here...?" Vinnie asked with an equally careful voice, not really knowing what kind of help she was talking about.

"This is Mars, Vinnie...I mean, this is a totally different planet than Earth... Your sunset's blue!" Charley gave a small laugh although there was fear in her eyes. Vinnie observed her, sensing her doubt and after giving it as much thought as he ever gave to anything, he took a step closer, now standing so close to her that he could feel her breath brushing against his fur.

"...maybe you'll get used to it?" His voice was deeper than usual, his demeanour missing all the act. It was just Vinnie. This young man who had been fighting in a war, who had lost loved ones, who had been hurt. A soldier who had witnessed so much with those eyes, who in such a young age had to abandon his youth to join in the resistance. A man who had a reminder of all things ugly out there in the world right there on his face.

"Could I get used to it all?" Charley asked, her voice almost like a whisper. She could feel that her hands were a bit shaky and her heart threatened to jump out of her chest.

"Sweetheart, there's nothing you can't do...!" Vinnie gave her a smile. The smile that felt like a cool breeze tickiling against her skin. The smile that had the power to brighten up her day, her whole world.

"It all sounds so crazy..." She whispered.

"But does it feel crazy?" Vinnie asked, and after a little hesitation he slowly lifted his hand and gently touched her cheek, letting his fingers stroke that furless warm and soft skin that still felt a little bit cooler than his own. Via the immidiate touch he could feel her emotions, he could sense there was hesitation, a lot of hesitation. But there was also love, and desire that was growing more and more intense. His eyes all this time looking into those beautiful green eyes. He could feel her heart rate picking up pace but she looked back, her eyes looking directly at him, like searching the answers from his eyes. He lowered his head and carefully placed his lips on her's, feeling the soft skin of her lips moving slightly when she answered his gesture.

Charley nearly drew back as she felt like dropping into a deep pool. For a moment she felt vulnerable and naked but then felt his strong arms holding her in a gentle caress, against his strong body. She felt love entering her body, love and desire, filling her whole essence like a tidal wave. It felt like nothing she had ever felt before, she didn't even know one could feel this much. It was overwhelming and she felt tears starting to crawl down her cheeks. If it was possible, she was at the same time filled with so much love but still scared like never before. Vinnie felt her tremble and fear and held her closer to him, telling her that everything was alright and she was safe. She was home.

x

x

Stoker walked the stairs down after eating a little 2 o'clock am snack, yet another protein bar. He had a newspaper folded and squeezed between his arm and torso as he took fast steps towards the infirmary to check the final time his wounded comrades, to see that they were okay, before going to catch some sleep himself. While acrossing the now empty garage a short light brown female stepped infront of him.

"How can you just watch idly by as your soldiers are all mentally fucked up?!"

The Commander gave Aprilia a look from head to toes.

"Well, good night to you, too, doll..."

"You're giving them orders and making them do these things and then you don't even wanna address how severely they're all fucked up by the war and all this shit!"

"Hey, lady, first of all, I don't make them do anything! They're all free to leave anytime they want! Second of all, it comes with the career choice that we tend to be a bit more unstable perhaps than the most of the population...! But that's just how it is! I'm sorry if "the war and all this shit" makes you feel bad! Welcome back to the real world, kid!"

Aprilia felt tears escaping her eyes and she sighed, sounding now desperate.

"I just don't know how to help him...!"

Stoker sighed, his demeanor softening and he took her into a warm hug.

"I know, come here... Unfortunately war is not a nice thing."

"I thought that it would've been all over by now..."

"Yeah, me too..." Stoker talked, looking thoughtful.

"You maybe don't realize it, doll, but just by existing and being there... You're doing a heck of a lot for the guy... You women have the power to do that. You're kinda funny in that way..."

Aprilia gave a snort, while keeping her head against his chest. Stoker stroked her hair one more time and gave her a look.

"And just for the record, I do care about these kids..."

"I know... Sorry if I attacked you like that... I was just so frustrated..."

"Hey, if ya weren't showing any compassion for these guys I guess you wouldn't be doing your job..."

"Sometimes my job sucks..."

Stoker gave a laugh.

"Yeah, mine too. But what can you do? You just have to keep on fighting..."

"And when does this all end?" Aprilia asked looking at him.

"I guess it's not about "when" but "if" it's going to end..." Stoker answered.

Aprilia sighed.

"Can't you just lie and tell me "tomorrow"..."

Stoker chuckled.

"You're a strong woman, Aprilia... Otherwise I wouldn't let you be here..."

x

x

Throttle couldn't sleep. Not because the snoring in the sleeping quarters for the male Fighters was worse than he had remembered but because he just couldn't take his mind of Carbine. He prayed that she was okay, that they haven't hurt her... For their sake he wished they haven't, since he won't be handling that matter lightly. He tried to calm down, think rationally, he had to sleep otherwise he wouldn't be any use for her and he needed his mind clear to figure out with Stoker what would be the best way to get her free. It won't be an easy task. He wasn't even sure how will they manage to do that. Not without hurting some innocent civilians or making themselves look like the bad guys... He already knew that the press had started to print all kinds of false news, to make the Fighters look bad, to twist the facts... And if they'll get Carbine free then what? Did they bring her here? He didn't know whether that plan was going to be alright with the General however...

x

x

Next morning there was a knock on the door to Aprilia's little room. Aprilia woke up and quickly put on her dress before rushing to the door. Once she opened it she saw Modo leaning against the doorframe, his look shy, casted on the floor.

"Mornin', darlin'... Just came to see if ya were okay, ya know, Ah shouldn't have left like that after everythin' Ah guess..." Modo talked hastily, shooting quick glances towards her, scratching his neck nervously. Aprilia could feel how her body relaxed, seen him there, looking alright, the gauze still wrapped around his right side although he had thrown a green Fighter's vest on and had changed into a pair of dark blue biker jeans.

"...Ah just came to tell you that Ah'm sorry that Ah did that, specially when ya had just said that ya wanted us to talk, figure things out together and Ah kinda pushed ya away...That ain't right..." The big grey furred male still talked and a smile appeared on Aprilia's face. Modo saw that and cleared his throat.

"...so, are you alright...?"

Aprilia grabbed him by the vest, pulling him down and kissing him. Modo got a bit surprised by this but answered her kiss, feeling her desire radiating from her. Aprilia broke the kiss and talked against his lips.

"I'm all right. And you?"

"Ah'm gettin' there..." Modo's low voice rumbled, looking into the beautiful eyes.

Aprilia nodded with a warm smile, touching his nose playfully with her own one.

"Anywhere you need to be right now?"

"No...Ah'm all yours." Modo answered with a smile, gently stroking her chin. Aprilia kissed his finger sweetly and then his lips before taking his hand and leading him inside her room, while he close the door behind them.


	22. Chapter 22: Public Enemies No 1

Hi guys!

So, surprisingly it took me again a couple of times of deleting and rewriting this next chapter before I finally got it right... It was a tricky chapter but then in the end it actually wrote itself just after I had nearly abondened all hope with it. I just sat down infront of the computer and wrote it all in one time. And then checked like million times the spellings but again I'm sorry if there are any mistakes...!

And: for everyone out there reading and reviewing, a BIG THANK YOU to you all! It really keeps me motivated to see that you guys like the story! And like always please leave a review to tell your opinion about the story, it means a lot to me and makes me happy and motivated to write more!

In the end this turned out to be the longest chapter I've ever done and ironically it nearly is just one continuous scene...

And I told you before that this part of the story will have maybe only a couple of chapters left so I guess I'll write one more to this story before I'll start a new "chapter" in this bigger saga, so to speak...

Okay but enough with all this chit-chat!

Here's the next chapter, hope you guys like it and please leave a review or a hello after you've read it!

Thanks!

-SpaceFlora

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Twenty Two**

 **Public Enemies No. 1**

It was breakfast time and this time there was something else than the protein bars, namely shavva wheat porridge. Shavva wheat was the only edible plant that could survive in the harsh environment since it didn't really need watering, it took all the water it needed from the air, from the water vapor during the early hours of the morning. It had a little bit sour taste to it. Charley let the taste of it sit in her mouth for awhile. She was one of the first to attend the breakfast and she was now sitting by the long wooden table, looking straight at the old wall cloths. She had tried to figure out many times what the pictures in the cloths were depicting but for no use. Well, there were mice she could tell that much but since she didn't have a clue about Martian folktales or religions she couldn't understand what was happening in the visual story clearly depicted there. She noticed some of the mice weren't having any antennae. Whether that was just a mistake by the weaver or not she didn't know but she had a feeling that there was more to it. Her thoughts were cut off when more mice poured in to the dining area to eat breakfast. In that bunch there was a white furred male, wearing his sweatpants and nothing more, looking still sleepy but hungry all the same as he was scooping porridge to his red clay plate.

Charley gave him a little shy smile as Vinnie sat down beside her.

"Morning..."

"Morning, there doll.." He answered while pouring a nice heap of sugar on top of the porridge. Charley raised her eyebrow at this activity.

"I'm surprised that you guys don't have a diabetes or something from the amount of sugar you guys are using, with all the sugar-filled drinks and all you were gulping as well back on Earth..."

"Sweetheart, sugar is what keeps us macho mice running! Well, that and the awsome genes.." Vinnie raised his eyebrow at her with a smug face.

"Yes, clearly..." Charley nodded while looking at the white furred male adding more sugar on the porridge. She then cleared her throat and after looking around her and figuring they were sitting relatively alone on their spot she opened her mouth.

"Listen...About last night..."

Vinnie gave her a look and she cleared her throat again.

"That was...I mean..."

"It blew ya socks off, hu?" Vinnie smirked but then suddenly looked almost shy and he turned his look away from her.

"Yeah...It really did that... I mean, I can't even begin to describe how it felt...The kiss..." Charley talked silently. Vinnie gave her a quick look.

"It's the mind thing, sweetheart."

Charley cleared her head and thought about it for a second before she then leaned a bit closer to him and whispered.

"You...You actually entered my mind?"

"Well, it's kinda hard not to when we were , ya know...That close to each other..." Vinnie talked.

"You felt the same things I felt?"

"That's the connection for ya, doll..." Vinnie talked while eating.

Charley thought about this all the while Vinnie continued eating and adding more sugar.

She just couldn't believe what had happened. That she and Vinnie had shared a long, beautiful, sweet and passionated kiss last night. A wider smile appeared on her face while she even thought about the kiss, and she quickly hid it behind her cup of whatever the hot stuff was that was been served around here. Somekind of tea perhaps?

The kiss. That had blown her mind. Was that how the mice felt everytime they kissed? She just couldn't believe how much she had felt, she thought that feeling that much wouldn't even be possible. Were those her and his emotions combined? Could she actually feel what he was feeling? Charley was just baffled. She knew that the mice were capable of many things but that had just felt so weird. Weird but heavenly at the same time. She came back from her thoughts as she felt a tail curling around her ankle and she gave Vinnie a look as he only wiggled his eyebrows at her behind his tea mug.

More mice poured in to the dining room and soon Throttle sat across to them with a deep sigh, after saying "morning".

"You okay?" Charley asked slightly worried. Throttle only shrugged his shoulders and looked around the room before he concentrated on the auburn haired mechanic again.

"I just couldn't get any sleep last night...I tried to think of a way to get Carbine out of there and...I don't know, it's just not fair that she has to suffer for the things we've done, for what we are..."

The tan furred male looked exhausted while leaning to his palm and Charley felt sorry for him. It wasn't like him to show his inner struggles like this, he usually could hold it together and even if he would be feeling under the weather he always got it together for he had been the leader during their stay on Earth and the leaders unfortunatly had to put their own feelings aside many times. But now Throttle looked a bit lost, staring down to his bowl of porridge. Charley reached to touch his hand and that got him slightly startled. He raised his look behind his glasses to meet her green eyes.

"It'll be alright." She said calmly.

"Yeah...Thanks..." Throttle nodded back now a bit ashamed that she had caught his anguish. Charley gave Vinnie a quick look who only shrugged his shoulders back before turning his look away but then his look cleared and got a little mischievous as he saw Aprilia and Modo walking into the dining area.

"Hey, Big Fella'! Didn't see ya sleepin' in our quarters while waking up...!"

The grey furred giant turned his look on Vinnie before turning it away a little annoyed about his younger bro's loud observation that had got everybody's attention (not that he hadn't expected anything less from Vinnie). He only muttered something to Aprilia under his breath, maybe something considering the lack of discretion from Vinnie's side but the little light brown female only had a smile on her lips as they walked towards them and sat down.

"So, how did you guys sleep? Good? I remember the mattresses are far better in those tiny rooms, you sleep well in there...You know, no matter how much you're twistin' and tossin' and turnin'..." Vinnie kept on pushing Modo's buttons while playing the innocent.

"Ah also remember that it's none of ya business..." Modo snapped back, his eye glowing.

"It's okay, love..." Aprilia talked calmly while stroking his arm, still smiling and only raising an eyebrow at Vinnie.

"Yeah, _love_ , chill..." Vinnie smirked back, and Modo gave him a glare back. Vinnie felt a strong tail suddenly curling around his upper torso and then he got yanked backwards, dropping on the hard stone floor.

"Autsch! Man, ya are a cranky one during the mornings...!" Vinnie muttered while rubbing his back still half-sitting on the floor, giving the grey furred male a glare back while everyone in the room laughed at their white furred comrade who had gotten what he had asked for.

"Okay, boys and girls, let's not fight this early in the morning..." Stoker suddenly sat down by the table, too.

"Vinnie, stop lying on the floor..." Their commander talked without giving the white furred male a look who then got up, shooting glances towards Modo who only raised smugly his eyebrow at him.

"Oh and morning to all..." Stoker then nodded around the room and his comrades answered back nearly in unison.

"Let's all first eat the breakfast Harley has so kindly put up for us..." He then started.

"Mind you, this is a rare occasion, it's not like I'm gonna be a freakin' maid around here so don't get used to it!" Harley raised her voice from another table and got applauses back.

"Thank you, Harley!" Stoker raised his voice, shooting a smile towards her and then continued.

"After the breakfast get yourselves ready and we'll all meet in the garage in one hour."

Aprilia was to get up and Modo gave her a glance.

"You're done already? Ya hardly ate anythin'...?"

"I have to go bring the patients something to eat too..."

"Beretta ain't there?"

"It's not fair to let her do all the things by herself...See you around..." Aprilia whispered to his ear and pressed a kiss on his cheek. Vinnie started a whistle but it was cut short as he met Modo's look. No need to get his ass kicked twice during the breakfast. He could get a hint.

x

x

When the breakfast was over and everyone rushed to get themselves ready, Vinnie was to leave the dining room too with the others but a voice stopped him.

"So... You and Charley, hu...? She's the one you were having this 'complicated long-distance relationship' with?"

Vinnie turned around and gave Harley a look who had this smile on her face while she was collecting all the plates into the same place. Vinnie gave a look around the dining room but everyone had already left. Vinnie cleared his throat and scratched his neck.

"Yeah... Well, to be honest at the time I said that to you we weren't, you know..."

"Together? Yeah, I figured..." Harley smiled back. Vinnie gave him a glance back and Harley laughed.

"Yeah, like you weren't the type of a guy who wouldn't boast about his ladyfriends...! You just were so modest, it was kinda cute..."

Vinnie only gave her a smile back, still looking a little shy. Harley gave a sigh and came closer to him.

"Vinnie...Since you came back...It has been slightly awkward and weird for us two..." She started and he raised his look to meet her eyes. Harley hesitated a little but took his hand to hers and she could feel that his heart started to race a little but to be fair so did hers. She felt his fine white fur touching her's. She sighed but then got her courage back.

"I'm really glad that you found someone."

"Harley...I'm..."

"Listen, you don't owe me an apology or anything. You had every right to move on. You all thought I was dead...It would've been mighty selfish from me to not have wanted for you to move on..."

"...I searched for you for so long..." Vinnie's voice was a low whisper.

"I know." Harley answered and through his touch she could feel that he told the truth.

"Whatever we had..." Harley started but she didn't really know how to put her thoughts into words. Her heart ached a little even though she tried to push the feeling aside. She was truly happy for him. But she just couldn't help it that the three years she had been a captive in the rat territory had left her a bit bitter. Even if she hated to admit that to herself. After Stoker had brought her here, she had tried to drown herself in work so she wouldn't have the time to think about all the ugly memories she had gained during her stay with the rats. She gave another sigh and intentionally tried to block his way inside those memories that were now crossing her mind. Noone needed to know what she had been through. She was to rearrange her words but then felt his hand stroking her hair.

"I know." Vinnie only said, silently, sensing her emotions coiling inside her but not really knowing what they were. But he could feel that she really was happy for him and that meant the world to him. He didn't even know that he had had this doubt gnawing inside him this whole time. And Harley had been right, things had been a bit awkward since he had come back. But he wanted to make things right again.

"...I'm so grateful that you're okay, Harley. And I will always care for you. That's not gonna change."

The ginger coloured female nodded and then grabbed him for a hug.

"Friends?" She then asked while looking up at him and Vinnie laughed back and nodded.

" 'Til the end, sweetheart."

Harley felt a tear escaping her eye and she wiped it away, laughing.

"Deimos, what's gone into us... We're both too tough and cool to cry like two sissies..."

Vinnie laughed back while still holding her in a hug. He had to admit that this whole conversation had stirred his emotions, too and he could feel the tears burning his eyes. While they loosened their arms around each other and Vinnie was to leave the dining room he heard her voice again.

"Treat her right, Mr. Macho Mouse. She's a special girl."

Vinnie only answered her with a smile and left, leaving Harley standing there. She looked at the dishes and then raised her eyebrow.

"If they thought I was gonna do the dishes, they can think again..."

x

x

In one hour everyone had gathered to the big garage. They were talking and chilling between the bikes and other vehicles. The big tank truck was still in the middle of the space and as Stoker stepped into the garage, they all gathered on to the other side of the truck so they could hear him speak. Stoker had his usual Fighter vest and pants on and his long hair was haphazardly ponytailed.

"Okay, punks...!" He started after clearing his throat. Everyone stopped talking and gathered closer to him. All in all there were over a dozen soldiers infront of him plus Harley and Charley. Stoker looked down, trying to arrange his thoughts but then raised his look and he had a warm smile on his face.

"First of all... I'd like to say that it is heart-warming to see all of you okay. A few soldiers are still gettin' themselves fixed in the infirmary but they too will be okay in the end..."

A loud cheering cut him off and he only smiled back.

"I also want to thank one person in particular for having to come all the way from Earth to fight with us...This is your home as long as you want, Charley-girl." Stoker turned his look to Charley who suddenly felt a blush on her cheeks and another round of applause was heard and she felt Vinnie putting his arm around her and whispering to her ear words that made her blush even more. Modo nudged Throttle a little who looked at the couple's direction.

"Ya sensin' things gettin' warm around here...?" Modo asked him and his tan furred friend chuckled back.

"Yeah, apparently even the slowest mouse catches the cheese..."

They were both chuckling, trying to cover their laugh, keeping their palms over their mouths. Vinnie only gave them a sour glance but then turned around smugly, still holding his arm around his love. Charley too gave them a look but only shook her head and gave them a silent smile back before turning her look to Stoker again who searched Harley with his look and found the ginger coloured mechanic around one bigger monitor situated in the garage.

"Before I'm going into details, Harley's gonna show you the greetings from the government... Harley." The commander gave her a nod and she turned the monitor on and searched the news from the internet. She clicked at one of the headlines and soon the headlines were covering the whole monitor. It said loud and clear "THE PUBLIC ENEMIES NO. 1: THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS. WANTED FOR THEIR TREASON AGAINST MARS AND ITS' PEOPLE. IF SEEING ANY OF THESE RENEGADES, PLEASE CONTACT THE POLICE. THE FIGHTERS ARE ARMED AND DANGEROUS." Harley pressed a button and the newspaper's virtual page turned on the big screen and there were black and white photos of the Fighters, with names and all pressed there. A silence fell around the garage but it was soon cut off.

" 'Wanted for their treason?' More like 'Wanted for their good looks!' Whoever chose that photo of me should get a big bonus!" Vinnie got excited marvelling the black and white photo of him. Charley rolled her eyes while crossing her arms.

"I think you're missing the point here..."

"Maybe but what I can't miss is that handsome thug staring straight back at us there, doll..." Vinnie murmured with a smile.

"Why don't you make a screensaver of it, then, Mr. Humble?" The auburn haired woman raised her eyebrow at him who now looked thoughtful.

"You know, sweetheart, that's a great idea...! I'm always ready to spread some beauty out there in the world!"

Charley only sighed, shaking her head as she then took a few steps closer to Modo and Throttle.

"I'll just step over here for a minute, suddenly there wasn't enough room for me beside Vinnie and his ego..."

His two friends laughed back.

"I think you'll just have to get used to it now, hu...? Since correct me if I'm wrong with the big guy here but it seems that you've started to warm up to Vin-man..." Throttle said with a raspy voice and swung his arm around her and she gave a little giggle that was not like her but she couldn't help it to escape her mouth.

"It was about time ya two made the move, Charley-ma'am..." Modo nodded, playfully but gently giving her a nudge on her side.

"Oh, gimme a break ya guys... My head's still spinnin'..." Charley rolled her eyes but then nudged Modo playfully back on his side, too.

While they were goofing around Stoker studied the photos of the Fighters carefully, other fighters had come to study the news closer as well and they were talking to each other under their breaths, clearly giving their commander enough silence to concentrate on whatever he was about to say next. Stoker then made a funny noise in the back of his throat as figuring out something while going through the list of the photos. He turned around and looked at his ragged bunch of soldiers.

"I think I know who has taken the photos..."

The Fighters all shared a doubtful look but Stoker then showed Hudson to step closer.

"Hudson, will you please pick up Miss Mina from her room...?"

"Gotcha'." Hudson nodded and left the garage towards the "old side" of the Headquarters where all the women were having their small bedrooms, including Mina who had been locked into hers after they've got back from their rescue mission.

It didn't take long before the tall dark grey furred male lead the scared looking tan furred female to the garage. As they stood there beside Stoker, Mina tried to hide her face behind her cropped white hair, hanging her head a little. Charley felt Modo shifting on his place nervously, clearly not happy how the things were developing. Hudson let go of Mina who crossed her arms, like protecting herself, her look burning a hole to the floor. Stoker took a step towards her and then swung his arm around the frightened young woman and lead her infront of the monitor.

"Mina, first I'm gonna tell you that it would do you good to speak the truth, right? By lying you'll only end up in more trouble, understand...?"

"Stoker... I..." Mina tried but Stoker didn't let her finish.

"Yes or no?"

"Yes, I-I will tell the truth...I don't want to hurt you guys..." Mina tried but Stoker then turned her to face the monitor and her eyes danced on the screen, going through the photos.

"What do you see here?"

Mina gave him a look full of doubt and panic but Stoker only gave her a smile back. It wasn't a friendly smile but it told her that in this situation he was not playing tricks with her. Mina turned back to the monitor.

"They're photos...of...of the Freedom Fighters..." Her voice broke out a little and Modo was to end this interrogation that clearly put the young female in distress but Throttle took a hold of his arm and once the grey furred male turned his look on him Throttle only shook his head.

"Stoker knows what he's doin', Modo...Trust him."

Modo turned to the scene again where Mina was looking at the screen with Stoker by her side.

"Yes, that's correct, those are the Freedom Fighters... Infact, there are pictures of each one of us who are now present here...Except for one. Can you name that one for me, please?"

Mina turned back to the monitor again, her heart starting to pound harder and her breathing became less stabile.

"Yes...?" Stoker waited there, his eyes on the female whose eyes were racing through the photos. Mina's eyes were shedding tears, the moist little beads travelling through her cheeks and dripping on to her shirt.

"That's enough, Stoker!" Modo's voice rumbled behind them but Stoker merely gave him a glance before turning his studying look back on the female. He knew that the big guy wasn't too happy about his way of interrogating but he didn't care. He wanted her to say the answer he already knew.

Mina tried to speak up but nothing came out of her mouth. Stoker leaned a bit closer.

"Yes? Who is it? The one who's missing...?"

"Me." Mina whispered as more tears ran down her cheeks. Stoker nodded at her and then tapped her back, rather gently. He gave the little crowd a look, the Fighters were all looking a bit baffled and there were whispers going around the garage. The commander turned Mina gently around to face the Fighters instead of the monitor.

"And why you're the one missing in these photos...?"

Mina tried to get her breathing to work normally but failed, she was staring at the floor not able to look at the Fighters who were waiting patiently for her to speak up.

"Because I took the photos." She whispered but in the silence it could be heard throughout the garage. After a short silence a loud noise rose as the Fighters were trying to voice their opinions about Mina and about the situation with shouts and comments, clearly having hard time believing that one of them could do that, to betray them like that.

"You have been working for the government the whole time, haven't you?" Stoker asked, crossing his arms but this time Mina only shook violently her head.

"No... No, no! I have not! They made me do it! They made me! I didn't want to turn my back for you guys...I really do believe in your cause and wanted to be part of it...!"

"They made you betray us? How?" Stoker's eyes were piercing her with his look. Mina shook her head and then suddenly fell on the ground and burst out into crying. Modo was to rush to help her but noticed he was late as he saw Harley taking the hysterical woman into her arms in a secure hug. Harley shot a glance towards Stoker who only sighed and leaned his back against the wall.

"Maybe we'll give her some time to calm herself down, hm?" The mechanic asked Stoker who only shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine by me. I already got the answer I was looking for..." He said and after giving Mina another glance he walked out of the garage.

It took a few minutes but Mina soon calmed down enough to breathe with more ease and she wiped her eyes, shooting still frightened glances around the big garage. Harley released her from her tight hug and just sat there beside her.

"I'm sorry if the commander was a bit...harsh. Even if you did what you did... There's no need to scare you like this...Just take a deep breath now, girl... It'll be alright..."

"No, it won't be alright...It's not alright..." Mina talked but then got startled as a clay mug full of water appeared into her view and she raised her look to meet Modo's worried gaze.

"Ah thought that ya might want some water, ma'am..."

Even though Mina was still shaken up she managed to squeeze a smile at him.

"Thanks."

She took the mug and drank a big gulp from it and then sighed, closing her eyes.

"It's never gonna be alright..." She whispered again.

"What's not alright?" Modo asked, changing looks with Harley who only shrugged her shoulders.

"They took my son." Mina whispered but her voice still broke and it took all her remaining strength to keep herself together.

"Your son?" Modo and Harley asked in unison and Mina nodded back.

"Before I joined the Fighters I gave birth to a boy... He was about six months old at that time and I left him with my parents and..." Mina stopped as she felt like she just couldn't breathe again. Modo gently stroked her back but didn't say anything, letting her collect herself and calm down.

"...I don't know what happened but those men got my baby... They said that I would see him again if I did what they asked me too...I first tried to feed them false information, tell them lies but they quickly realized that and threatened to kill my son if I did that again and..." Mina closed her eyes again and sighed.

"A couple of years went by and I didn't see him and then the war ended and I thought that they'll give me my son back but... They captured me instead and tried to force me to tell more information about you all, to tell where you were, who you were hanging with... They tried to locate each one of you. I tried to tell them as much lies as I could and act that I didn't know about anything and pleaded they'd let me go and give me my son but... They always told me that I needed to tell more and it just never was enough..."

"You haven't seen your son this whole time, ma'am?" Modo asked silently, feeling a strong pinch inside of his heart. Mina felt tears filling her eyes again and she bit her lower lip, shaking her head.

"I don't even know if he's alive or not...!" She then burst into crying again. Modo gave Harley a look who only returned to hug the tan furred woman, now even more firmly. Harley's eyes then fell on Stoker's eyes, the commander had been standing close-by and hearing everything. He looked thoughtful.

"You should've told us. Told me. We could've help you find your son." He talked now in a calm way, kneeling beside Mina who first got scared once seeing him again but then calmed down as his eyes were now full of compassion.

"I'm so sorry. I was just scared that they'd hurt him if I did..." Mina whispered through her tears. Stoker nodded.

"You still did very wrong and I just wish that you'd told us in the first place..."

Mina closed her eyes and turned her head towards the floor.

"...but I guess..." Stoker started and then looked around the garage full of silent Fighters who had been listening to her story.

"We can forgive you."

Mina raised her look to meet his eyes. She looked confused and then shook her head.

"No... No, I've done wrong, so wrong...Because of me there could be more of the Fighters still captured or... even worse...It's all my fault!"

"Don't flatter yourself, girl, the government has got the power and capability to destroy us on their own, even without your help..." Stoker flashed a little smile and then took her hand into his.

"So, what we're doing now is that Harley here can escort you back to your room where you can just calm down in peace and don't worry there's no need to lock the door anymore... Then when you're done and you take your time there's no rush... You'll come back here and tell us all about it and we'll figure out how we'll get you and your son reunited again. Okay?"

Mina only glanced back him, her big eyes blinking. Stoker gave a little laugh and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"This is not a trick. We're not the government, we're not playing any games... "

Mina nodded and managed to give the commander a slight smile and a nod and then Harley and Modo helped her back to her feet and she left with the Martian mechanic towards her room.

"Well, the government really is playin' it dirty..." Stoker thought out loud, scratching his chin while giving the news another look. He then turned around and looked at the bunch of Fighters.

"There's still one thing that leaves me a bit worried...We're as I've said before, outnumbered in this fight... We'll need help..." Stoker talked but Vinnie cut him off.

"C'mon, help is for the weak!"

"I'm not taking anymore chances, we're gonna fight the government until every crook sitting there is locked up..."

"But how are we gonna do that? We're currently labeled as criminals... No one's gonna help us out! If anythin', they'll turn us in and send our asses to jail!" One of the fighters asked and the others joined him. Stoker nodded.

"I didn't say this is gonna be a day's job. This can be a long and hard fight. But as I said, we'll need help...There's only a little over a dozen of us now in any condition to fight plus the few men still treated in the infirmary...Those are not a good numbers against the government's army and their secret service or whatever those guys hiding under the desert are called..."

Suddenly the alarms went off and everyone startled. Harley ran back into the garage and joined the others as they were looking at who were outside. Stoker tried to zoom in and see who were those men standing outside the big garage doors.

"How did they got this close without the alarms getting on earlier...?" He thought out loud and Throttle leaned over him to look at the screen also.

"And how did they knew where the doors were? This side of the Headquarters should be hidden from the view, inside the rock..."

Stoker zoomed in still and Harley forced herself through the crowd to see something behind the big men blocking her view. She looked at the screen as did everyone else behind her. The view was still getting zoomed in and the image was getting more clear by the second and the ones standing just outside the doors were now starting to be clearly recognizable. Harley gasped as her eyes grew big and her heart started to pound. Suddenly a silence fell over the base but just for a few seconds before the racket started.

"Rats?!"

"What are those doing in here?!"

"Let's grab our guns and send them back to their ratholes!"

Stoker thoughtfully looked at the screen and just before everyone were about to go get guns and bikes he suddenly raised his voice.

"Wait!"

Everyone freezed and Throttle took a step forward.

"Stoker, if we're not going out they'll get in here...There are injured soldiers and...!"

"I know! But look!" Stoker pointed at the screen and everyone silently observed what the bunch of rats were doing just few metres away from them, just on the other side of the big steel doors.

"What are they doing?" Vinnie asked a little impatiently, his adrenaline level already starting to hit the roof, ready to ramble with the rats.

"It seems as if...They're placing their guns on the sand and...surrendering...?" Throttle then concluded and gave the others a confused look. The Fighters all shrugged their shoulders clearly a bit clueless. When talking about rats they knew anything could be expected but...they weren't expecting this.


	23. Chapter 23: Trust and Love

_Oh my! I'm back!_

 _And I'm so sorry for the loooong wait! But life and all... Just didn't have the time and then I really wanted this to be the last chapter in this story before starting the sequel to this so there was so much to discover yet in this last chapter, it just took forever to write...! And it turned out to be the longest chapter I've ever written!_

 _I've been going these lines over and over again, writing and rewriting and deleting and writing again...but there might be some errors still even though I've been trying to check them but you know...I apologize in advance._

 _A big big big thank you to all of you who have been reading this story and I hope that you'll continue to support me on the next one also!_

 _So, here it is finally, the very last chapter in this story! Enjoy!_

 _And please leave a comment or a review below! I would very much like to know what you guys think of it!_

 _Ride free, citizens!_

 _-SpaceFlora_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Twenty Three**

 **Trust and Love**

"C'mon Stoker, you can't possibly think that those rats are really here to surrender themselves, now do ya?" Throttle sighed giving their commander a look behind his specs but the old commander only shrugged his shoulders, rubbing his chin, where a few grey hair has started to grow already.

Throttle gave a look at the screen again that showed live footage just outside the big steel doors of the garage. The small group of rats had their weapons laid on the ground and now they were waving at the camera they've spotted, trying to catch their attention who were inside. And they've gotten the attention, alright. It wasn't a secret that the mice in general didn't think too highly of the rats, but the Fighters had given them a chance during the Plutarkian War and the rats had been on their side until Mace had decided to join the Plutarkians (an the corrupted Martian government) and the rats had turned their backs on the Fighters and the whole Mars.

"I don't know... I'm just curious what they're here for..." Stoker only replyed thoughtfully.

Modo made a snort and his eye flashed red.

"They're here to stab us in the back the second they'll get the chance! That's what they're here for..."

"You're not seriously thinking about hearing these guys out, Stoker...?" Rimfire asked standing beside his uncle. Stoker remained silent, looking at the rats. Throttle shook his head and gave the screen another look, too. Trying to go through all the possible scenarios in his head.

"For all we know this could be a trap..."

"Aaaawooooooo! Sounds like an invitation to me! C'mon let's go smoke some rat's tail already!" Vinnie banged his fist against the other one.

"Trap or not, we don't attack the ones who are waving the white flag, they're unarmed." Stoker muttered and Vinnie sighed loudly, throwing his hands in the air frustratedly.

"Yeah, you should learn to handle things without guns anyway, hot shot." Charley winked at Vinnie who crossed his arms looking sour.

"Where's the fun in that...?"

"We can't let them go either...They know where we're hiding." Stoker thought out loud and rubbed his temples a brief moment before turning his look on the Martian mechanic.

"What do you think, H?"

Harley had been silently staring at the rats via the screen this whole time but startled a little as she heard him calling for her.

"Hm? Me?"

"Yeah, you. I would like to know your thoughts on this..." Stoker talked a bit more softly. Harley knew why he was so keen on knowing her thoughts about the rats and she just narrowed her eyes, sweeping her memories away from her mind again and shrugged her shoulders, carefully avoiding Stoker's eyes.

"I trust you. Do as you like..." She tried to say it as nonchalantly as she could but even that husky sensuel voice didn't cover the coldness in her tone. Stoker studied her for a moment but then turned his look to Throttle who nodded back.

"You're right, we can't let them just go now after they've found our Headquarters...But since there's some grudge between us and the rats I would advice to take the party outside..."

Stoker nodded and then turned to the rest of the Fighters.

"Well, boys and girls! Go make yourselves pretty! We're having guests!"

The Fighters ran toward the gun storage room in the back of the garage, taking weapons and loading them.

"Sorry, sweetheart, you have to sit this one I'm afraid..." Vinnie told Charley who turned her fuming eyes on him.

"What? I didn't drag myself five million kilometres just to sit still!"

"Sorry, it's the protocol, doll..."

"Yeah, right, ya don't even know what that word means..." Charley muttered but felt his finger under her chin and she turned her head towards him again and thought that he was to kiss her but just inch away from her face the white furred male stopped.

"You'll get your action soon, sweetheart..." He smirked.

Charley's heart skipped a beat for this blatantly flirty comment and all her words died in her throat. Damn it, she didn't like for him to win but she could't help it. Her mouth didn't seem to work at the moment. All her thoughts had just collided with each other. Vinnie's smug smile widened as he saw her face, he was to say something else but Modo's voice beat him to it.

"Vin's right, Charley-ma'am, things can get unpredictable as there are rats involved... Maybe ya can go to check that everyone's okay at the infirmary and tell them to stay there until we've checked what those rats want..." The grey giant said as he loaded his hand gun since he still was missing his bionic one. He had to admit that he felt a bit awkward with only one arm but he had been managing through the days most of the time.

Charley nodded silently and after giving Vinnie a last quick look, she left towards the medical area. She could use this time to clear her head anyway. Modo looked after her, a bit concerned.

"Well, that was easy... Normally she would've told us to shove it..."

"What can I say... I'm noted for leaving the girls speechless..." Vinnie smirked and polished his finger nails against his white fur. Modo rolled his eye and gave a look to his right where Rimfire appeared, loading his gun and while seeing the look his uncle gave him the young male snorted.

"Don't even think about saying that I have to sit this one, too!"

Modo chuckled back and ruffled his hair.

"Nah...But ya don't have to throw yourself into the first line of fire either..."

"But that's the best seat in the house!" Vinnie cried beside them and Modo gave Rimfire a look.

"Don't listen to him, he's not quite right in the head..."

The commander of the resistance looked at the Fighters who all were now armed and looking impatient.

"Okay, Fighters! We'll open the doors, but you don't fire or attack them without my permission, got that? Let's see what they're up to..." Stoker raised his voice and everyone nodded back, their fingers already stroking the triggers of the guns.

Stoker showed Harley to open the big steel doors. Harley nodded silently and went to press the button that activated the doors' slide aside and she watched as the massive steel doors started to let natural light inside the garage. It wasn't that much light, though because this side of the Headquarters were hidden inside a cave but just that much that it slightly changed the colours inside the garage into a bit warmer hue.

As the doors had slid halfway the mice could now see the rats standing there still, their hands held up. They were dressed quite similarly than the Freedom Fighters normally were, they had dark and red coloured camouflage pants and tank tops, vests and dark boots on. Many of them had bandanas around their necks and foreheads. They were muscular but due to their more leaner bodytype, they didn't strike as buffy as the Fighters. They all were also a little shorter than the average Martian cave mouse male.

As the doors had slid all the way open, there was a silence. The rats just stood there, still holding their arms up, clearly wanting the mice to take the first initiative. Stoker made a circle in the air with his index finger.

"Turn around."

The rats obeyed him and turned around, showing them they didn't hide any weapons behind their backs either. They slowly turned to face them again and one of them, a dark brown with a black short mohawk took a careful step forward, but stopped immidiately as he heard a round of clicks as the Fighters removed the safeties of their guns. The rat still had his arms held high.

"Well, this is as warm welcome as I imagined it to be..." The rat then gave Stoker a smirk.

Stoker observed the rat infront of him and then the rest of the rats before giving Maico and Rimfire a hand signal to go pick up the rats' weapons from outside, where the rats had left them. As the weapons had been gathered away, Stoker gave the rats a permission to lower their hands as the Fighters carefully circled the little group. Once they were all outside the Headquarters, but still inside the cave Stoker showed Harley to close the doors.

Stoker took a step forward and was now standing close to the dark brown rat who's thick pink tail covered only with fine transparent hair was slightly curled in a relaxed manner between them.

"So, why did you come here?"

"We came here to offer our help." The rat answered without a hesitation.

A loud sound of snorts and laughter echoed around them.

" _Yeah, right!"_

" _Like we need help from a bunch of rats!"_

" _Yeah, ya had the chance and ya blew it!"_

" _Traitors!"_

"That's true. You did have the chance to fight side by side with us but you turned your backs against us, against Mars." Stoker nodded.

"That wasn't us. We didn't want that to happen." The rat commented, not looking even a least bit concerned standing there unarmed infront of the rebel group. Stoker had to admit that he was a little surprised and impressed by that.

"You really want me to believe that? Mace worked for our rotten government and for the Plutarkians the whole time! Now, I don't like been played..." Stoker took yet another step forward, his voice becoming low and ominous and the Fighters felt their muscles to tense even more as they were waiting a signal to attack. They were changing looks with each others and changing it to their leader a little nervously, not sure what was going to happen next.

"Mace had his own plans...he was hungry for power and for the money...Most of the rat soldiers followed him, he persuaded the others to believe that it was for our own good to join forces with the devil..."

"Lemme guess, you had a visit from a guilty conscious?" Stoker's look pierced the rat infront of him but the rat didn't flinch. He only gave a slight smirk back.

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"What can I say... You get a little suspicious when you've been stabbed in the back." Stoker replied.

The rat gave a quick sigh and decided to start again.

"Look, shortly after Mace had gotten everyone on his side, we formed our own group. We fled the rat territory and we've been mostly living off the grid, out here in the no man's land, trying to keep a low profile and stay hidden since after we left our homes, our fellows have been trying to track us down...Don't think they'll welcome us even with this much of warmth once they'll find us..." He joked while glancing around the Fighters who had been mostly silently watching how this negotiation goes.

"So, you're telling us that...you left your own race and are now planning to fight against them as well as the Martian government?" Stoker crossed his arms in disbelief and the rat nodded back.

"That sacrifice had to be done. For Mars. We knew that Mace' plan would backfire and we also knew it was wrong. Believe me, even us rats can have a sense of moral...But we didn't turn our backs against our families, those have got nothing to do with this war. Only the troops Mace is leading. He's having about fifty soldiers under his command at the moment. Anyway, we hope that in the future every race here on Mars would work together and we would have a Martian council that'll represent all of us and not just for the few..." The rat talked in a calm manner while Stoker was clearly taking all this information in and trying to decide whether to buy it or not.

"Well, even if this all was true... Why do you think we would wanna join our forces with you again?" The brown furred leader asked.

"Well..." The rat gave another look around the Fighters.

"I'm guessing you're lacking man power...I know the mighty Freedom Fighters have always thought highly of themselves but even you can't be that delusional to think that you can take down the whole government with only a handful of men. I know there isn't that many of us but we are all highly motivated to join forces with everyone who's on the side of Mars."

Stoker rubbed his chin. The rat knew he wasn't convinced and he replied to Stoker's doubtful look.

"I would say that you'll have my word for me speaking the truth here but I know how little my word means to you..." The rat gave him a meaningful look, raising his eyebrow.

Stoker turned his look on Throttle who was standing closer to him than the rest of the mice. Throttle lower his gun and walked to his side and looked at the rats from head to toes.

"Well, I gotto say that I'm impressed by your pretty words... But they're still just words. I'm also curious how did you find our Headquarters?"

The rat gave a laugh back.

"Nothing that happens out here in the no man's land can escape our attention. But don't worry, we haven't blabbered the location to anyone..." After saying this, he gave his fellow rats a look. They had been silently observing the situation, also not looking all too worried. It seemed like they've been waiting for this moment to come and they almost seemed confident, which made the mice a little alarmed, too. Since the mice weren't confident at all with this situation and many of them had their fingers still ready on the triggers, stroking the little cold metal piece. It would need only one word or a look from Stoker to trigger the whole scene, so to speak.

Throttle and Stoker shared a look.

"Well, we might have to keep them here for awhile, since they know where we're hiding, we can't let them go now..." Throttle stated.

"Yeah, I don't see much of a choice here..." Stoker continued the thought.

"Do as you think it's the best." The rat only shrugged his shoulders but then turned his head to Modo who was standing the closest to him, his gun pointed at him.

"But I would prefer since we're unarmed here that you could maybe tell your pups to not point their guns at us. You can trust us not to try anything, we're out-numbered anyway..." The rat pointed the words to Stoker but his look was on the big grey furred male. Modo narrowed his eye.

"Didn't trust ya back then and not gonna start now..." Modo growled back but Stoker raised his hand to signal him to calm down. A slight smile appeared on the rat's face.

"Like it or not, but if we want Mars back, we'll have to join our forces. Together we'll have a chance to win." The rat turned his look back to Stoker. The commander of the rebel mice stood there silently for a brief moment but then turned his look to the camera and waved Harley a signal to open the doors again.

"Fighters, escort our guests inside!" Stoker walked inside the sliding doors as there was just enough room for him to fit through them and the Freedom Fighters circled the rats into a more close-knitted group, their guns still pointed at them, as an emphasis, as they all walked slowly inside. Harley was waiting for them, shaking her head, not looking pleased as she turned her eyes to Stoker.

"Really? You bring them here? Inside our Headquarters?"

"Hey, didn't you say that you trusted me?" Stoker talked to her, lowering her voice and giving her nearly a flirtatious smirk.

"Yes, when you're not doing stupid shit!" Harley hissed but Stoker only smiled back not really offended by the mechanic's passionated outburst.

"I have a plan."

"Sure you do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll need to get some air, this place started to reek..." Harley muttered and after giving the rats a final look, she left the garage.

Stoker turned to Throttle.

"I think we'll have use for the recreational room upstairs... Let's bring the rats there and I want two guards to have an eye on them all the time. Hudson and Maico, you'll take the first turn."

"What about their leader?" Hudson asked.

"Take him, too. We'll question him later..." Stoker said and then looked around the facilities.

"Modo, can ya bring Mr. Rig here. I wanna know everything he might know about Carbine..."

"Sorry, no can do, coach... Ah'm currently not allowed to go near that scum, doctor's orders..." Modo muttered, leaning his back against the wall.

"I'll go..." Throttle volunteered.

"Well, Modo you could then go with Rimfire to print maps of the military area. It's time to make some sense to this all. This base' startin' to become a refugee for all the one's who's ever betrayed us and I don't know whether I like it or not..." Stoker muttered.

"Wait, what do I do..?" Vinnie hurried seeing everyone scattering around him.

"You can go make us tea." Stoker smirked and left the garage.

"Wait, what? Tea?! I'm the baddest mammajammer in this Galaxy! I don't have to boil water!" Vinnie protested but soon realized that he was left alone in the garage. He crossed his arms.

"Oh man...Such a waste of potential..."

x

x

Throttle walked inside the first bigger facility space in the infirmary. He spotted Rig in the same place where he had been the whole time since brought in the base. The dark brown male with white cropped hair laid there on a hospital bed, reading a newspaper. Throttle walked beside his bed and threw the paper away.

"Knock, knock, soldier boy. How's life?"

Rig got a little startled when he saw Throttle but then he turned his look away.

"If you're referring to the fact that I'm currently held as an hostage inside the enemy base and my leg's busted then no, I've not been especially delighted..."

"Oh, don't be silly, you're not a hostage... We're not gonna trade ya for anything."

"Fine a captive."

"Consider this a time to really reflect on what you've done to Mars and our fellow Martians..."

Rig snorted and crossed his arm, above his chest. Throttle observed the man a moment but then took a grip of his collar and lifted him off the bed.

"We're gonna have a lil' talk with you...So if you could just skip out of here that'll be nice or do I need to assist you...?"

Rig made a cry of pain as his leg wound started to ache in the position he was currently been held. Aprilia suddenly rushed beside them.

"What are you doing?! He's in pain!"

"He is also a felon and a valuable prisoner who has information we want...Stoker wants to question him."

Rig made another cry of pain as he was now currently in a standing position and he had to put weight on the sore leg. Aprilia went to pick up crutches and then offered them to the man who took them with a slight nod which nearly could've been understood as a thank you.

"Fine, if he has to leave the infirmary then he has to use the crutches. Also, you're not gonna "help" him in any way, got that? Otherwise he won't be going anywhere."

"Ay ay, doc..." Throttle gave Aprilia a smirk who only stared back with a strict face.

"And you'll return him in the same condition as he was when leaving here."

"Well, I can see why Modo don't want to stand against you, you're a tough one..." Throttle talked while following the now hobbling man before him as they both were going towards the garage. A smile appeared on Aprilia's face as she raised her eyebrow at him.

"He knows better than to mess with me..."

x

x

Rig sat down on an offered chair. He put the crutches away, and then made himself comfortable, straightening his wounded although now treated leg before him. He gave Throttle a sharp glance but then grunted as the leg was still in a painful position.

"Why am I here?! Does the so-called Freedom Fighters take prisoners nowadays?! You think you're so much better than everybody else and look how low you are willing to go..." Rig nearly spitted the words out of his mouth as he then grunted again, trying to find a position for his leg where it won't ache.

"I'm not sure what you're accusing me for... I don't know anything." Rig only concluded with more coherent voice.

The Fighters who were present to witness this interrogation changed their looks on Stoker who had taken a chair himself and turned it around and was now sitting close to Rig, his arms leaning relaxed on top of the back of the chair.

"So, where's my niece?"

Rig gave him a confused look.

"Who?"

"General Carbine."

Rig made a snort.

"You mean the soon-ex-General Carbine, she's a traitor of the government and therefore she'll get what she deserves..."

"You low creature... She's prosecuted under false evidence and with paied judges and you know it!" Throttle pointed him with his index finger.

"We only wanna know how to get to her." Stoker was acting calm but his eyes were piercing the ex-Major who tried to avoid his eye contact.

"You can't get near her... She's held in the maximum security level and the only ones who can visit her are the high ranking army officers..."

Stoker changed his look to Modo who was still leaning against the wall, his eye burning a hole to the Major's back. Aprilia had told him to not hurt the guy but that didn't mean that he couldn't think about hurting the guy, in multiple ways.

"Didn't your sister marry an army bloke?" Stoker asked the grey furred giant.

"Yeah..."

"Oh, he's so uptight person... I don't know if he wants to help us in any way..." Rimfire muttered.

"Maybe not free-willingly but Ah think my sister can be very persuasive..." Modo thought out loud.

"You mean controlling?" Rimfire talked and gave a light chuckle but Modo nudged him on his side.

"That's your mother you're talking about, have some respect, kid..."

"I know, I know... Doesn't change the fact though..." The young male rolled his eyes. He then laid the maps of the Army Base on the table he had just printed out with Modo. A small bunch of Fighters gathered around the table to examine the maps. Stoker drew his finger arund the map and then he tapped a place.

"There. The high-security cells. Well, they're in the middle of the whole building..."

"Of course, makes it more difficult..." Throttle rubbed his chin.

"More dangerous, too..." Modo concluded giving the map a look.

"Anyone wanted tea...?" Vinnie suddenly appeared into the room holding a tray with a tea kettle and mugs. The Fighters in the room started to snicker but Stoker came to take the kettle and a mug and poured some for himself.

"Thanks, rookie..." He had a smile on his face.

"Are you wearing an apron?" Throttle chuckled giving his white furred bro a look who crossed his arms.

"Well, couldn't let my beautiful fur to get all dirty..."

"Suits ya, well, Vin...!"

"Yeah, you look pretty!"

The Fighters started to laugh but Vinnie only shrugged his shoulders, looking bored but suddenly his ears started to twitch.

"Wait...What is happening...Is there...Can it be so... I can smell danger!"

"Yup, we're trying to figure out the way to free Carbine... At the moment it seems that the only way in is through the whole military base..." Stoker concluded.

"Aaaawoooo! Why didn't you say so?! Let's get our bikes and go mayheeeem!" He threw his fist in the air but with still wearing the floral patterned apron the whole garage bursted out into a laughter. Vinnie crossed his arms, trying to cover his hurt.

"Oh...You guys are just jealous 'cause this studly body can pull off any look!"

"You got that right, bro..."

They all then stopped as they heard a faint chuckling and they turned their heads towards Rig who was still sitting on the chair, shaking his head.

"You can't get even near the base, you're all wanted men, described as highly dangerous... You go near the Army base and you'll get shot."

"Not if we're having allies in there..." Throttle concluded.

"The Army is loyal to the government, you can't get even a glimpse of her." Rig huffed.

"I don't know, Carbine was very liked and respected in the Army rows... I could guess that we can find many men who are still loyal to her." Stoker mused but stopped as he heard steps entering the room. They all turned their heads and saw Mina standing there, still looking a little shaken but it seemed that she had calmed down herself and as her eyes spotted Rig, sitting there in the middle of the room her eyes suddenly flashed with a flame and before anyone could react she sprung in action and attacked Rig, knocking the chair down in the heat of it and starting to hit the man.

"You! Where's my son?! Gimme my son back, you bastard...!"

The Fighters gave each others a little concerned look.

"Should we maybe stop this..?" One Fighter asked before he had to move out of the way as Rig tried to crawl into safety but Mina was on top of him, still punching the man.

"Ah'm good... As long as this ain't traced falsely back to me..." Modo raised his hands up.

Stoker stood up, shaking his head a wide smile across his face.

"Well, what d'ya know, the girl got the guts after all... But we want to have our captive alive so if you please, gentlemen..."

Throttle and Rimfire went to drag Mina off Rig and she calmed down as soon as she was again standing there on her feet again next to the big soldiers but she was breathing heavily her eyes fuming, her look directed to the ex-Major who was still lying on the floor, touching a sore spot on his temple that bled a little.

"Damn bitch..." He muttered and gave Mina a look.

"Hey, hey...watch your mouth!" Stoker raised his voice.

"She's got every right to hurt your sorry ass, since you took her son and blackmailed her. So, where is he? Where are ya keeping her son?"

"I'm not a damn babysitter, how should I know! And even if I did, why should I tell you sons of bitches anything?! What do I get from all this?!"

"Good Karma ain't good enough of an excuse?" Stoker merely smiled at this, raising his eyebrow.

"I want my freedom back!"

Stoker gave a sigh and took a sip of tea.

"Don't we all... Take him back."

"Can't you see, you poor rebellious rats...! Mars has comen to an end. The government's only trying to profit while there's still something to profit from! Soon, there's not going to be anything to salvage! Mars' story has ended! You might as well give up...!" Rig shouted as he was been been dragged towards the infirmary again.

"It's not end until the credits roll..." Stoker muttered placing the tea mug back on the table and leaning to his hands, observing the map of the Army base infront of him.

x

x

Aprilia walked towards the little nook where Charley and Beretta were drinking tea while talking. She just had been accepting ex-Major Rig back to the medical care, who had been bleeding from the corner of his eye and having bruises all over his upper body. After giving some emphatic feedback to the Fighters who quickly had hurried away from the infirmary she had decided to take a break and try to forget that she was infact working alongside with chaotic group of soldiers who acted like children and who didn't seem to be able to take anything seriously. She really missed the professional work ethic down at the healthcare centre...

"Did you know that the Earthling and Vinnie kissed?!" Beretta raised her voice as soon as Aprilia was near them. Aprilia raised an eyebrow and gave Charley a look who now looked like she tried to hide herself behind her teamug, a little uncomfortable to let the whole infirmary know about the recent events in her long-neglected love-life.

"No..." Aprilia took a seat by the table.

"I mean I definately sensed something between you guys but didn't know how serious it was..."

"So, how was it?" Beretta asked eagerly. Aprilia gave her a look. She hadn't seen her friend this excited about anything the whole time they had been here. Maybe she was starting to settle in the Headquarters and relax around the Freedom Fighters...Or then the golden furred female with flaming burgundy coloured locks just really liked to gossip. Charley tried to avoid their looks and she only looked deeper into her tea mug.

"I don't know... Weird...?"

"Weird?" Beretta repeated, the pitch of her voice rising slightly.

"In a good way..!" Charley rushed to explain but then gave out a long sigh.

"Look, I don't know how to describe it, there was just so much...emotion."

Aprilia gave a warm smile back.

"Your minds just connected. Nothing to be scared of."

"Did he...enter my mind? Like read my thoughts? I'm sorry, this all is just... I'm just confused at the moment..." Charley sighed and sat down on an empty chair. Aprilia reached to take the Earthling's hand to her's. She could sense that her emotions were coiling inside her.

"I guess you've got every right to be confused. If I have to go out on a limb here I'm guessing the guys didn't tell you that much about our species while been there on Earth...?"

"No... Well, the basics I guess, maybe they thought that I'd get bored of hearing about a totally different life-form living on Mars..." Charley chuckled back.

"Well, maybe it's good that they didn't go into too much detail... Who knows what kinda stories they would've been making up. They're not exactly experts on the anatomy, physiology or the psychology of the Martian cave mouse..." Aprilia laughed and released Charley's hand after giving it a light squeeze.

"He did enter your mind but he did not read your thoughts. Don't worry. We don't do that. He only shared his emotions with you."

"But you could do that, right? Read minds, I mean?" Charley asked carefully.

"Well, it's a whole another process, it's not easy to intrude or invade another person's mind... Everyone, including you, have a self-defence mechanism inside the mind. Only the most trained mind-controllers can enter or invade our minds, and actually do damage to us at the same time... But that is considered criminal activity even if they're using it as an extreme method to cure some of the psyhcological damaged already done or some cases of mental illnesses."

"So... Vinnie doesn't know my deepest secrets after we shared a kiss?"

Aprilia gave a laugh.

"No... He's still as ignorant as ever..."

Charley closed her eyes in relief and nodded but then gave the females in her presence a look.

"Not that I'd have that many dark secrets and skeletons in the closets...I'm just kinda attached to my personal space, that's all..."

"I can understand why you were scared. And Vinnie should've explained these things to you in advance..."

"Like think before acting? Yeah, sounds like our white ball of adrenaline..." Charley chuckled and shook her head while the Martian females also giggled.

"Anyway, we're not sharing or projecting our personal thoughts out there for everyone either... Anyhow, if and when your relationship does evolve from here... You can give him the permission to enter your thoughts and your mind. But in that case, too, you're sharing as much as you're willing yourself." Aprilia continued.

"How? I don't have the antennae...I can't do what you guys can do with your minds..." Charley leaned back in her chair.

"It's got nothing to do with the antennae, these merely are the conductors of the things happening inside our brains and minds..." Aprilia twitched one of her antennae between her fingers and it tremored a little due to her touch.

"But you're saying that I could do the things you can with your minds if I want...?" Charley raised her eyebrow.

"I can't see why not... Hypotethically speaking, ofcourse. I think we're not that different in the end..." Aprilia's dark brown eyes met Charley's green ones. The Earth mechanic nodded, trying to take all this new information in.

"Oh, enough with the boring stuff...! Tell us about the kiss!" Beretta tapped the table infront of her enthusiastically and it made Charley and Aprilia laugh.

x

x

Stoker stepped inside the garage where Harley was repairing a bike. The ginger coloured mechanic merely raised her look but returned it back to the piece of machine infront of her.

"What do you want?" She asked.

Stoker took in the unwelcoming question but then walked around the room, his hands behind his back, going through all the bike and gun parts stacked in the shelves with an interest like he wouldn't have seen them before.

"Just...Came to see how your work is coming along..."

"It's coming along just fine, thanks." Harley replied, unscrewing a bolt that was tightly fastened.

Stoker nodded absent-mindedly, taking one gun part to his hand and admiring it at close range. He then placed it back on the shelf and turned around to face her, well her profile anyway since she was still working and trying not to pay him any attention.

"You okay?" The commander then asked with a slight frown.

"Fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Harley got the bolt off the bike but it had been so fastly tightened that she flew backwards on her behind. She closed her eyes in annoyance and voiced a few curse words but as she was to get up and opened her eyes she could see a hand infront of her face. Harley raised her look and saw the trademark smirk that everyone around the base knew. Harley shook her head but then bit her lower lip and grabbed the offered hand and Stoker dragged him up so she nearly bumped into him. Harley wiped the dust off her work overalls but then crossed her arms, looking at the floor.

"You didn't like that the rats came here, correct?" Stoker asked with a silent voice since they were at the moment respectafully close to each other and didn't need to use too much volume. Harley shrugged her shoulders.

"I said I trust you and I still do... Doesn't mean that I have to like the decisions you make though..."

Stoker gave a small huff and carefully stroked her cheek. Harley raised her look to meet his eyes and she didn't know why but her heart started to beat a little louder.

"You have to know that I didn't do that to hurt you, H..."

"I know..." Harley answered but then gave a sigh.

"I'm sorry, I'm just behaving childish..."

"No... You don't ever have to apologize..." Stoker shook his head and then lowered his hand and cleared his throat. He turned away from her a little and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, his steel tail snaking on the floor.

"Anyway... What I also came here to tell you is that there's dinner..."

"Dinner? Like...real food?" Harley raised her eyebrow and a smile escaped her mouth.

"Yeah... Few of the men were gathering mallo snails from the cave..."

Harley nodded while flinging a screwdriver in her hand.

"Okay...I'll just finish over here..."

Stoker gave her a look and then nodded, and after giving her a reassuring smile, he left the garage, leaving Harley still flinging the tool in her hand, her mind a bit clouded.

x

x

The dinner was relatively silent this time. Everyone was just enjoying the taste of the mallo soup after the amounts of protein bars they had been consuming many days in a row. Only the sound of slurping was to be heard around the dining area.

Charley had already eaten herself full and was now again concentrating on the old pieces of wall hangings on the wall. She sat there, beside Vinnie who was eating in such a rush that Charley was musing there to be more soup on the table than in the white furred male's mouth. Her eyes were on the pictures, dancing along the colourful tapestry and her eyes were again stopping on the mice depicted there, without the antennae.

"Why those mice don't have their antennae?" Charley then asked Vinnie who didn't raise his look from his plate but answered anyway.

"They're monks..."

Charley's breath hitched for a brief second but then she raised her eyebrow.

"There are monks on Mars?"

"Yup. You know, because of the religion and stuff..." Vinnie talked not really interested in having a long and detailed conversation about the mice in robes...

"You have a religion in here?"

"What's the big deal, you have like a hundred religions on Earth..." Vinnie concluded and some soup dripped to his front.

"It's not a big deal...It's just... Never thought you guys had a religion since well, never saw you...I don't know...pray?" Charley shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe you just didn't know it was a prayer..." Modo said, deciding to jump into the conversation since his younger bro didn't seem to be too much use for her enquiries.

"That's true...I mean, you guys pray?" Charley asked a little dumbfounded since all this was news to her. It had already been a really information-packed day. Smile appeared on Modo's features.

"My grey furred mommah would say that not enough..."

"Yeah, well...It's not like the religion is that big of a deal anymore...I mean, I guess the older folks still pray and stuff..." Vinnie shrugged his shoulders.

"Can it be that with the on-going wars you have had here for centuries... that somehow the role of the religion has diminished in some way...? Maybe the people have lost their faith?" Charley asked carefully and a silence fell over them. The mice changed looks with each other but then Modo nodded at her, with a warm smile.

"Ah guess ya can be right there, Charley-ma'am..."

"Well, there is from time to time some younger ones who decide to become a monk and dedicate their lives to the gods..." Throttle jumped into the conversation.

"One of my cousins did that... He's now in one of the two last Monasteries, haven't seen him since..."

"But why they don't have their antennae...? What happened to those?" Charley asked.

"They are removed once you decide to become a monk." Throttle answered.

" _Removed_...? But... They're are part fo you, how can you just remove them?"

"It has stayed a well-kept secret how the monks actually do that but I guess it involves sharp knives and a lot of blood..." Harley said, licking her spoon. It had been a very palatable dinner. Charley felt chills going down her spine.

"Oh, dear Lord..." She sighed.

"Can I ask why?"

"It's a symbol of faith and dedication. It does not cut them off completely from the mindwaveweb but it does distort and distract the mindwaves a bit..." Throttle concluded. Charley gave the tapestry another look. Well, there went her good-night sleeps...

x

x

"I'm Simson, by the way..." The dark brown furred rat with a short mohawk introduced himself as he was showed to take a seat. He looked around the few Fighters who were now glaring at him, all standing relatively close to him and they looked like big statues covering the sky.

"Stoker." The leader of the resistance nodded and the rat gathered a smirk on his face.

"I know. You're a legend."

The rat then clapped his claws together.

"So, I guess, you've had some time to think about what to do with us...? Oh, and I'd like to say thank you for the dinner, my compliments to the chef..."

"Thanks." Modo blurted, not showing any emotions.

"...although we had to enjoy our dinner while been watched the whole time..." Simson continued.

"Like I said, we have to make sure that you're telling the truth. We can't take any risks. the guards will stay there until I decide otherwise." Stoker said.

"I understand that." Simson said but then leaned back on the chair.

"So, how do you wanna do this?" He asked.

"It's going to be a two-step programme for you to show your sincerity..." Stoker started and then turned around to take a few steps away from them and Throttle continued.

"First you're going to tell us where Mace is hiding, where is their base. We also know about the secret desert tunnels the rats are using. We want the map of them."

Simson merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Sure..."

"And then..." Throttle started and gave a little pause to go through the idea once again in his head.

"...we need your help in our next mission."

Simson looked at him and then changed it on the other three.

"Well, that's why we're here for..."

"Don't get too excited yet, you haven't still earned the trust." Stoker replied.

Simson nodded back, carefully sliding his look on the four Fighters standing there infront of him. Stoker took a step forward again and examined the rat sitting there.

"But...I've been talking with all my men and although they're not excited..." The commander gave Modo a glance who only turned his still doubtful look away.

"...we're willing to give you a chance. After all, it is like you said. We have a better chance to fight the government if we join our forces. We have to look into the future and not to the past. So, if you're still willing to fight side by side, for Mars and for the Martians... Welcome on board, comrade." Stoker offered his hand and after a moment of hesitation (the first seeing from Simson's part) he grabbed the hand and shook it.

"On two conditions..." Simson then started and Stoker stopped shaking the hand and gave him a look as the rat stood up, standing nearly as tall as the commander.

"One: my men don't have to be watched and guarded while staying here. If we're doing this together we cannot be captives the same time. Two: under no circumstances can you turn the information we give you against our families, our citizens living in our territory."

Stoker pondered a moment but then shook the hand one more time.

"Deal. But you don't get to have guns. Not yet."

"Fair enough." Simson nodded.

Stoker gave him a slight smile and then turned to walk away but gave Throttle a glance.

"Tell the guards to retreat. The rats are free to roam around the base but only upstairs for now, where they're also sleeping. Tell the men to show them around and give them blankets."

x

x

Aprilia sighed, closing her eyes while nudging closer to Modo under the blanket. Wrapping her naked leg around his equally naked waist.

"I still can't believe that you're here..." She whispered. Modo stroked her cheek gently and they shared a kiss which brought Aprilia momentarily back into their passionated lovemaking that they were now just recovering from. A wave of passion washed over her again.

"Love...?" Aprilia talked against his lips.

"Yeah...?" Modo replied before their lips found each other again. Aprilia reluctantly broke the kiss and looked at him.

"I just have to tell you that while you were gone... You know that cure for the women's fertility problem I've been studying and perfecting with my colleagues...?"

"Yeah... What about it?"

"I might have tested it for myself..."

Modo blinked his eye but then sighed.

"Aprilia, ya know that could be dangerous..."

"It's not dangerous, the cure's already in that phase that it has been successfully injected into many women but it just isn't perfect still... Anyway, it's hard enough to try and have some funds from the government to arrange these testings, I guess I was just been eager and unpatient to make the whole process just go forward as quickly as possible and that is why I thought to test it for myself too..."

Modo looked at her, not really sure what she was really meaning with all this. Aprilia sighed and swallowed but then raised her look on him again.

"I guess what I'm trying to say here is that... It can be that the cure has worked for me and that I could get pregnant..."

She observed his look and then rushed to continue.

"Just so you know, if you want to be careful with things..."

A smirk started to appear on Modo's face.

"Ya mean if Ah didn't want to have soon kids runnin' around the base...?"

"Well, the times are quite unstable and we're living under the sand most of the time...Hiding... I mean, it's not exactly an ideal place to raise kids...Not to mention that we just got back together, maybe it's better to wait some time..." Aprilia stroked his wide muscular chest. Modo took her hand to his and kissed it gently before stroking her palm with his fingers.

"You want to have kids?"

"Yes, I'd love to have kids in some point...But maybe now is not the most perfect time..."

"You're worryin' about the future...?" Modo asked carefully slipping a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Well, someone has to...! You Fighters are all so carefree, riding towards the dangers and blowing things up along the way...!" Aprilia snorted but with a spark in her eyes.

Modo chuckled and then gently kissed her again.

"Don't think that we're not worryin' about the future as well..." He said between the kisses.

"I know you do, love..." Aprilia answered against his lips.

She then gave a sigh and drew with her index finger circles to his chest.

"It's just feels sometimes that there's nothing lasting in this time..."

Modo stroked her chin and her cheeks gently and then lifted her face to kiss her again and she closed her eyes, feeling his love pour into her. She felt him broke the kiss and as she opened her eyes she saw him getting out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" She asked raising her eyebrow, looking at his naked figure who then knelt beside the bed and looked her into her eyes.

"Aprilia, darlin'. Will you marry me?"


	24. Chapter 24: Water

_Okay, so..._

 _Surprise! I still did another chapter for this one!_

 _I just realized there were still "a few" things that I wanted to happen before the sequeal..._

 _I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on this chapter and the whole story so far! I really really would like to know what you guys are thinking since the reviews are the only way for me to communicate with you guys and the comments really helps me and gives me more energy to write! But a real big THANK YOU to all of your who have been reviewing this story and encouraging me through out this time!_

 _I'm very GRATEFUL for you all that have been reading this story (there are so many of you, I can't believe it!)!_

 _A BIG BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has been reviewing this story and liking and following etc...! Means A LOT to me!_

 _So, to THE LAST (I swear) chapter in this story before the sequeals! And it's a long one! I'm so sorry if there are spelling errors and all... I do try to correct them all. And also there's a lot of dialogue happening since well, yeah, I love writing dialogues :)  
_

 _Please, enjoy!_

 _-SpaceFlora_

 **The New Dawn of the Red Planet**

 **Chapter Twenty Four**

 **Water  
**

Aprilia blinked her eyes and stared at the grey furred giant who was still knelt beside the bed, naked. She could feel her heart rate picking up pace, her mouth felt dry and she was in loss of words. She dived into his gaze, that intense look that felt everytime like penetrating into your soul.

And suddenly it felt like there hadn't been those three cloudy years separating them. Like they'd been together ever since they'd met that one day when Modo had comen to patch himself up after a battle. A soldier and a field medic. First they only had been flirting with each other but soon they'd started to date. But it had been only after six months of dating when she had found out that she was in fact in love with him. She could still remember the moment...

 _Start flashback:_

The war was raging and she had just comen back inside to one of the secret bases, more near to the battlefield than their HQ. She had lost a wounded, a Fighter had died in her arms out in the battlefield. There had not been time to take him inside where they'd be more safe. She had cried for the first time during the war that day. She had tried to be strong. She had kept saying to herself that the wounded needed her to be strong although the horrors she saw everyday had already caused her to lose her sleeps. But that time, she just felt so helpless against the war. And she had cried.

Later that day she had heard that the troops where Modo had been that time had been ambushed and that no one knew what had happened to them. No one could contact them, the radio was dead. Her mind had turned cloudy as she had tried to continue to do the daily tasks and treat the wounded but her mind had been occupied with different scenarios on about what could've happened to the troops. But as her mind had not been in its' most perfect setting anyway, thoughts on his death had started to circle her mind, even if she tried not to think about it and tried to remain hopeful. But the horrors of the war just seemed like piling over her, making her see only death and darkness everywhere. Ofcourse he had to be dead, since everything around her was dying too.

It was like she was there all over again. At her mother's burial ceremony just a few days before she had decided to flee to the warzone to help as a fieldmedic. She had not been there for her mother as she had passed away and that had been gnawing her ever since. She had decided that from that day she'll do whatever it took to help the ones who needed it. And she had been trying her best. But that day when the Fighter had lied dead in her lap, it all reminded her about her mother and how helpless she actually was against the war, against everything ugly in the world.

Then the next day came and she was informed that the troops were okay and that they'd only gotten stuck in the crossfire and they'd returned. Just when someone was informing this Aprilia saw Modo enter the secret base, throwing his battle gear on a near-by table. His look circled the base before finally settling into her. She saw how his tired and wornout face suddenly lit up. Like he had seen something beautiful, something that he had been waiting for a long time to see. Like what he saw right then had been something that had kept him going on out there in the battlefield. And it was that look that broke her into tears and that suddenly gave back her faith.

Tears had filled her eyes as she had rushed to him and jumped to his arms. He had kissed her neck, her cheek, her lips...And whispered soft words to her ear, while stroking her hair. That moment she had felt like there was beauty in the world after all. The world wasn't a dark place and there was hope. She felt she was home when he was holding her. And in that moment she realized she had fallen in love with him.

 _End flashback._

Modo suddenly shifted nervously, his tail twitching on the floor beside his leg. Aprilia then realized that she might have been staring at him for quite some time... Without giving him an answer to his proposal.

"Yes!" She then blurted out with so sudden shriek that it made Modo to startle a little. His ruby red eye found her dark brown ones again.

"Yeah...?" His voice rumbled, asking with a reassuring tone.

"Yes...!" Aprilia bursted into a tiny giggle and she threw her arms around his neck.

"Yes, yes, yes...! I will marry you, Modo!"

Modo felt a bit lightheaded while hugging her back, stroking her naked back, tracing it with his flesh hand, knowing its' every curve by heart. It only started to dawn on him what had just happened since to be fair, the proposal although been in his mind a lot, had been an impulse of a moment.

"I love you, Modo." Aprilia whispered as she kissed him. He answered the kiss but broke it just to murmur against her lips.

"Ah love you too, darlin'. Ah don't want any second of my life to go by without you by my side. Not anymore. Ah already lost almost three years..."

Aprilia smiled and stroked his cheeks and ears.

"That's all in the past. We've still got the future. We're here now. That's all that matters, love."

x

x

The computer made an alert sound and a text "no authorization to enter this site" flashed red on the screen. Throttle hit the keypad hard and then threw himself on the chair, rubbing his temples with his right hand fingers. He was tired. He was angry. He was riled. But above all he was concerned, and that prevented him to sleep his nights. He was concerned over Carbine. No matter how he tried to think things through, he blamed himself for all that had happened to her. The characteristic trait of a leader-type. If something goes wrong, you're the one to blame. Ofcourse he knew no one blamed him, except himself. And that was the worst. If only he could've been there to protect her...

But he had been nowhere near. And he hated that. Hated that in the course of these three years they'd grown so much apart from each other. He hated to admit that to himself but it was true. They both had had their jobs and responsibilities towards their planet and they had been so preoccupied with their tasks that slowly but surely the calls had become more irregular, the visits more professional. But still, after this all, he knew she was the one for him. She had always been the one for him. Ever since they'd met while they were just growing up. While they'd been just kids. He had already then known that she was the love of his life. And now, because he had failed to protect her like a man should, she was in danger. Locked up. He had failed.

He had been rubbing his temples a bit too rough maybe since they started to hurt and he stopped with a sigh and closed his eyes and leaned back on the chair. In some point he just has to have some sleep, even if only for a few hours... But those a few hours would be taken from the precious time of finding and freeing Carbine. If only he could see her, and know she was okay. He had tried to connect with her through the mindwaves but they were too far apart... And his fears were preventing him to think clear and pick up even the tiniest notions that could imply that she was infact alive and well somewhere... Also the connections were far-better when you weren't this exhausted since it requiered a fair amount of energy, too. Throttle also wasn't too sure that their connection was that strong anymore. Well, the thought had come to his mind but he had quickly pushed it aside. He will not give up without a fight...

"Throttle." He suddenly heard a voice and he jolted upright to sit and looked around him before his eyes fell on Stoker who was standing on his other side, his arms crossed, his expression both stern and concerned. Throttle glanced at his direction but then concentrated on the screen infront of him again.

"...I'm just trying to see if I could find any info on her upcoming trials from the government's site, like what she is exactly accused for and all... but I guess my hacking skills aren't that great...It's not working..."

"I told already that Rimfire's gonna do that." Stoker started but continued.

"...and if I'm remembering correctly I told you to go catch some sleep in the meantime..."

"I can't sleep. I mean, I can't get any sleep...This thing... I have to do something..." Throttle babbled back, he started to sound more and more not quite himself. He was usually so calm and collected, he usually was the one who could think straight. Stoker sighed and shook his head.

"Okay, here's the deal... You are going to sleep. Right now. That's an order. You're no good in that condition to help her... If anything you're only making things worse. We need your mind sharp as a knife and right now you're babbling like a damn hophead in dementia..."

Throttle knew he couldn't argue back, Stoker always got the last word around here. But he wasn't happy about it although he knew the oldtimer was right. He was no good in this condition to help Carbine.

"I just... I can't sleep..." Throttle talked back, nearly whispering not wanting to shout out his problems to everyone there at the Base. Stoker looked around and then turned back to him, nodding.

"I'll have something for you to relax and get you some sleep... Come on..." Stoker offered him a hand and Throttle took it and was pulled up by the Commander who then tapped him in the back.

"Just remember that everyone of us are doing the best we can to get her free...And we will. Don't worry."

x

x

Rimfire was rocking nervously in the chair infront of one of the VidComs. After a brief static coming through the screen the image cleared and he saw his mother.

" _So...He knows how to call home after all..._ " He heard his mother May's voice.

"Mom... I told you before that I can't just call you every hour of the day! This is a serious operation I'm in here! And I'm fine, so stop worryin'..." Rimfire started and crossed his arms.

" _Stop worryin'? All of the Fighters' faces were imprinted on today's newspaper! Your face was there for everyone on Mars to see! It says that you're wanted for crimes and that you're armed and dangerous!_ "

"Mom..." Rimfire tried to calm his mother down while his ears had started to ring with her high-pitch voice.

"You know those news are all faked to make the Fighters look bad! You know we're not the ones who are the criminals here..."

" _It doesn't change the fact that now every creature on Mars thinks you're a some kinda dangerous maniac! Now what on Gods' names is goin' on there?!_ " The grey furred woman raised her voice even more.

Rimfire sighed deeply and sunk in his chair.

"I can't tell you, mom, it could put you in danger if I tell you stuff..."

" _Don't you gimme that...! Ah'm your mother! Ah have the right to know what's going on!_ "

The young male looked a little defeated. Nothing beat the "mother-card". She looked very unhappy to say the least and she had crossed her arms over her chest to emphasize her discontent.

" _Fine. Where's Modo? If you don't talk, Ah know how to make him talk...He always sucked in lyin' while we were growin' up..._ "

"He's not...here... Look, just chill, mom..."

" _Chill? You want me to chill while you're in danger?!_ "

Rimfire opened his mouth but closed it again. Okay, that might not've been the right word to use.

His mother then sighed heavily and shook her head. It seemed that she had just been waiting to blow off some steam and seeing that her son was infact alright and alive at the moment had helped to calm down her nerves a bit.

" _Rimfire-honey... Ah'm worried that you don't really grasp the seriousness of this all... We're talking about the government that is tryin' to find you guys and put you in jail. Now, Ah don't want to sound as Ah wouldn't believe in you or your cause... Ah do know about the corruption on this planet and all, heck your father could talk to me about those things every hour of the day, bless his soul...So, Ah know why you must keep fightin' but, it doesn't change the fact that Ah'm just afraid that there might come a moment when this situation is going to be... too much. If it isn't that already. And Ah can't stop worrying that somethin' bad is gonna happen to you_."

Rimfire nodded and scratched his stripy mess-of-a-mohawk on top of his head.

"I don't know what to say, mom...I have to be here. I have to fight."

" _Ah know you do, honey. Ah'm just scared that Ah'm goin' to lose you. Like we lost your father... It's dangerous to play with fire, son. Sometimes there are far bigger entities behind things... And Ah'm not completely convinced that every battle could be won._ "

"You won't lose me, mom. I promise. And it's not about winning every battle mom, it's about winning the war."

" _You talk just like your father._ "

Rimfire only shrugged, not really knowing what to answer to that. His mother looked back into his brown eyes and gave so warm a smile that Rimfire felt it in his body, in his heart. She then nodded a couple of times and while she was to say something else, suddenly a stern face of a white male appeared on the screen beside his mother.

" _Rimfire? What on Gods' names you think you're doing?!_ "

Rimfire sunk in his chair again.

"Oh, man..." He muttered as his step dad, dressed as an Army Lieutenant sat beside May and pointed at him.

" _You come back here immidiately and surrender yourself, you here me boy!_ "

" _Radius..._ " May's voice was stern but the white male continued.

" _I don't know what kinda stories those anarchists are feeding you down there but you gotta get away from there and surrender! That's the only way to get you safe! I cannot even begin to tell you in how much trouble you're going to be if you get caught without surrendering yourself right now...! Now, I might be able to protect you from getting any severe penalties but..._ "

Rimfire crossed his arms, his look pungent.

"We're fighting for Mars. I'm fighting for Mars! What are you doing?"

May also raised her eyebrow at her husband, questionly.

" _The Freedom Fighters are not fighting for Mars! The war is over! They are fighting against the government and that makes them the state enemies!_ " Radius raised his voice, that was filled with confusion, anger and worry.

"If you think like that then you don't know the whole truth!" Rimfire raised his voice as well causing some Fighters to turn their heads towards him curiosly.

" _Truth? The truth is that you are currently inside the Headquarters of an armed and dangerous rebellious army, a group of guerilla soldiers who are been accused of taking law into their own hands, who are carrying guns without a permission and who are at the moment lawless. That's the truth! Don't try to impress someone like your uncle by staying there, boy._ "

"Don't drag Uncle Modo into this!" Rimfire protested.

" _Yeah, you're goin' too far now, mister...! That's my lil' brother you're talkin' about!_ " May also pointed at her husband.

" _Twist it all you want, honey, it doesn't change the facts. The law is the law! The Fighters are labelled as criminals! We cannot possibly all turn our backs to the law! If we want to have a change then we must do it by the book! Not twisting the laws to fit our own agendas...! Otherwise it'd be a total anarchy!_ "

"Well, maybe what we need then are new laws since right now not any of your precious laws gonna help us or help this planet!" Rimfire started and his mother joined in.

" _Yeah. Maybe we do? Honey you know Ah love you but it'd do you good to try to look at this whole situation from another point of view...You know that the government's feedin' you soldiers all sorta things and not all of it is true..._ " She gave him a meaningful look.

Radius shook his head a bit clueless and was trying to come up with an answer but all he could manage to do was to repeat the same words, giving his wife a look.

". _..The law is the law...! May! You can't possibly think that any of that talk is making any sense? They've brainwashed the kid! The things he's talkin' about is against the law! It is criminal!_ "

"Okay, you know what, I have to go so... thanks for the lecture, Lieutenant..." Rimfire cut him off. He gave his mother a look.

"I'm fine, mom, don't you worry...I'll talk to you soon." Rimfire said quickly and May gave him a warm smile with a nod.

" _You stay safe, son. Send my love to Modo._ "

" _Wait...! We're not done here...!_ " Radius started.

Rimfire turned his look on Radius who still was trying to come up with something that could maybe change his stepson's mind.

"And you, General Carbine ma'am's accused for treason and you know that's false, you know her, she's like the most patriotic person ever! Search the good ol' book of laws all you want, in the mean time we go lawless!"

" _Wait...! Rimfire!_ " Radius raised his voice but there was only static on the screen. The connection was dead.

Rimfire got up and shook his head.

"Man, out of all the men in this planet she had to pick the most boring person ever..." _Go by the books_ ", man, what a drag..."

He walked by Stoker who raised his look and Rimfire nodded at him.

"Well, you can count my stepfather out of the picture, he's like the most tiresome person in the whole galaxy. He won't go against the system. He won't help us. Well, not without a fair-amount of persuasion atleast... I guess he's just scared to admit that everything he's ever believed in is actually all lies..."

"Fine, well it is what it is, I guess...Luckily there are plenty of soldiers out there, we'll find the ones who are loyal to Carbine and won't have problem to fight against the government. It would've been good to have Mr. Radius on our side since he's not just some ordinary footsoldier and he's higher in the rank but...oh, well..." Stoker talked while watching the screen infront of them, running his fingers on the keypad.

Rimfire gave the screen a look.

"You're trying to break into the government's system?"

"Yeah, trying to find the trial files on Carbine, something you were supposed to do..."

"Ugh, sorry, totally slipped my mind... Sorry, my bad. Well, scoot over, oldtimer, let the young blood show some tech-magic...!" Rimfire cracked his knuckles and Stoker laughed while moving out of his way. He then patted the young male on the back and whispered to him.

"...and 'cause of that talk you're still without a girlfriend..." He left him be but Rimfire shouted after him.

"Just for the record, coach, the girls go crazy on the nerds nowadays!"

He then shook his head and started to run his fingertips on the keypad.

"Okay, let's get you sing, beautiful.."

x

x

Harley was sitting by the dining area's table sipping tea, somewhat lost in her thoughts when Aprilia sat down beside her.

"Oh, here you are... I've been looking for you..." The light brown female talked while pouring tea to her mug as well. Harley gave her a quick glance before returning her gaze to her mug again.

"I've been trying to avoid the undesired contact with our new guests..."

"You mean rats? Yeah, Modo's not that thrilled either... So, how are you holding up?" Aprilia asked carefully.

"Fine. I'm fine." Harley blurted.

"Okay..." Aprilia nodded and then let her gaze wonder to the other side of the dining area where Vinnie and Charley were talking by the table and laughing at some stupid things, looking very preoccupied with each others.

"And that situation we're having over there...?"Aprilia asked again but Harley gave a slight smile.

"I'm only happy for him to find someone and it seems that she's just the one to keep him in line... You heard about her figuring out how to open the mind control machine? Even I didn't come up a solution to open that piece of junk and I'm the most intelligent person I know... Besides you ofcourse." Harley joked.

"Yeah, I heard she's a bright one..." Aprilia nodded.

"Yeah, so I think it's fair to presume that she'll snap out of it and leave that bonehead in no time..." Harley smirked and then gave Aprilia a look and studied her friend a brief moment. The blonde haired female had changed into Freedom Fighters' outfit with green combat pants and yellow shirt since she hadn't had extra clothes of her own with her when she had rushed to the base. She was now fiddling the tea mug, looking into distance a goofy smile on her face.

"Why are you looking so giddy?" Harley asked suspiciously.

"I'm not giddy..." Aprilia snorted but failed to keep a straight face while a blush started to etch her features.

"Right..." Harley raised her eyebrow but then turned to her mug again.

"Or actually, nevermind... I'm only guessing that has got something to do with you sharing your bed with your soldier-boy again and in that case I really don't wanna know..."

The blush became more intense on Aprilia's face as she was trying to sip her tea nonchalantly. They had intented to keep their engagement as a secret since there was now so much going on at the Headquarters but Aprilia was so excited that she felt like a bubble ready to burst with this secret. She wanted to tell even if for one person... She turned to Harley, placing the mug on the table.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Girl, you have no idea..." Harley tapped the brim of the mug with her finger tips, fleetingly looking quite distracted but then turned her look on Aprilia.

"So...What's up?"

Aprilia lowered her voice as an excited whisper.

"I'm getting married!"

"What? You are?!" Harley raised her voice but then quickly gave Vinnie and Charley a look across the room who had interrupted their talk and turned their heads towards them looking curious. Harley waved at them with a tiny smile.

"Girl talk!" She concluded loudly at them before turning to the small blonde female beside her again, this time keeping her voice down.

"With Modo?"

"Ofcourse with Modo! It's not like I've been seeing anybody else for the past six years...!" Aprilia hissed back.

"Hey, I've been away over three years, I can't possibly know what's been going on...!" Harley joked but then hugged her friend.

"I'm so happy for you! It was about time you two tied your tails in a knot...You're like the most sweetest couple I know! Come, we have to celebrate this...!" She then got up.

"I don't know...That would maybe draw too much attention, we decided to keep it as a secret for now..."

"Oh, c'mon, I insist! I even let you tell me all the mushy details! One time offer here..." Harley said and pulled her up from the bench and made Aprilia to follow her towards the Headquarter's mechanic pit that the ginger-coloured Martian mechanic was ruling.

x

x

"What was that about...?" Charley asked once she saw the two women leave the dining area and leaving them alone. Vinnie only shrugged his shoulders but then as he saw that they were alone now, he quickly slid closer to her on the bench. Charley suddenly felt her cheeks burning and guess it showed too since Vinnie gave a little chuckle and stroked her hair and her cheek.

"Have I ever said how cute you look when you blush?"

"To be fair you're talking a lot and not all the things you say could be registered in my brain..." Charley joked back but felt her blush become more intense the same time. It was weird how after their kiss she had turned out to be like a damn school girl in crush. And even in school she hadn't acted this way... And then suddenly this buffy, motorcycling male from Mars had showed into her doorsteps (or slid all the way in while stepping into a pool of oil) and while first she was merely irritated by him and his ego she slowly started to develope feelings towards the adrenaline king, feelings she had thought to keep as a secret from him since how could it work between two persons from different planets? Well, that apparently remained to be seen since the first step had been taken in that path.

"Well, you do." Vinnie smirked. Charley waited for him to continue with a remark that would somehow showcase his as equal cuteness and awesomeness but there wasn't anything. She gave him a look.

"Where did you lost your ego all of a sudden?"

"Hey, I don't have an ego...!"

"Sure you do, you once sent it a postcard while visiting Detroit..."

They shared a little laugh and Vinnie scratched the back of his neck. It had been a long time since he had dated anyone. Let's be honest, even if he was the coolest, baddest and the most awsome man in the galaxy, somehow he had gotten the vibes down on Earth that the women would not be too turned on by this whole "outer space" look even if he was the coolest mammajammer in this side of the asteroid belt... With them been totally ignorant of the fact that other species were living out there in the other planets in the first place. Poor things. Well, their loss. Their eyes would never scan his fierce body. He then turned his look back on her and studied her a moment.

"You don't think this is weird...? For us to be...this close?" He then carefully asked. Heck, every once and a while he could try to act somewhat serious. Charley only smiled back and shook her head.

"No. How about you? You find it weird?"

Vinnie looked into those green eyes and then carefully leaned a bit foreward, he could almost here how her heartbeat suddenly increased its' tempo. He regarded her face, her beautiful eyes, her lips, her now slightly rosy cheeks, that marvelously soft skin... Okay it had first felt weird to touch a hairless skin but he had gotten used to it through the years spent on Earth.

He could feel her breath hitching as he slowly moved even closer to her and then made the final nudge and touched gently her lips with his owns. She answered the kiss, closing her eyes, tasting him in her mouth. And then she fell into the pool full of hot soft velvet again and she quickly jolted away from him although remaining seated, now turning her look away, taking a deep breathe.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Vinnie asked a little worried, his tail giving a nervous twitch.

"Yeah, yeah...I'm fine." Charley sighed but then shook her head and gave him a tiny smile.

"I guess I'm just not used to kissing an alien, that's all..."

Vinnie chuckled.

"Yeah, same here... Well, if you don't count that one gal from Saturn...Oh, and the other one from one of its' moons..." Vinnie started to list and Charley gave him a playful hit on his shoulder.

"Okay, okay, yes, we know how all the ladies in this galaxy are just swooning over you...!"

"Hey, when you get a taste of VanWham, you can't go back..." Vinnie raised his eyebrow teasingly.

Charley nodded and then moved a bit closer again so they could feel their breaths on their skins like a cool summer breeze.

"Is that so, hot shot?" She raised her eyebrow and it made Vinnie swallow a little but he tried to remain cool.

"Yeah, well, that's the talk in town, sweetheart..."

"Does the talk ever stop..?" Charley raised her eyebrow and it made Vinnie to look confused.

"What...?"

Charley gave him a smirk and she grabbed him by his bandana and pulled him gently towards her and placed her lips against his. Feeling his fur tickle a little against her own skin, his front teeth to slightly grit against her front teeth. And then she felt his tongue. There she fell into the pool again. But she decided to explore the pool and not to be afraid. She could feel his protective arms around her and she knew she was safe.

x

x

In the evening:

"Here are the maps of the tunnels, as was agreed. They're all marked with red pencil...Now, can me and my comrades maybe expand our territory by been able to walk downstairs as well?" Simson the leader of the rebel rats asked laying a pair of maps on the table. Stoker leaned on to his palms while studying the maps. He then gave a look around the room at his men who were all shrugging their shoulders, looking thoughtful, not really knowing what to make of the request. The Commander gave Throttle a questioning look who sighed while scratching the back of his neck.

"Well, they did give us what we asked..."

Some Fighters agreed with that.

"They only drew a couple of lines across the map...We don't even know that those are real." Modo snorted while filing his bionic fingers, as Aprilia with the help of Rimfire had attached his bionic arm back earlier that day. Some of the Fighters seemed to agree with this point.

Simson raised his look and gazed across the room at Modo who was leaning against the wall, glaring back at Simson who was only chilling on his chair, arms crossed, tapping his fingers patiently. Modo usually wasn't this suspicious about people nor did he normally question Stoker's decisions but this was about rats which, in his book, happened to be the least trustworthy Martians. He had had his doubts on the rats also when they had been fighting along side with the Fighters during the war and like he had predicted then also, they'd stabbed them in the back. So, no, he was not thrilled about the idea of letting them roam around freely around the HQ where were civilians also.

Stoker turned to Simson again.

"Well, it seems that...my men are not still too convinced about you guys..."

"Hey, that's their problem. Meantime I have to calm my men since they're currently feeling themselves trapped like animals, having only two rooms to roam about...! Now we agreed that I'll give you what you want as long as you give us what we want as well." Simson's voice was lower and more strict but his posture remained calm.

"I can understand that... But you gotta understand also that there's been a lotta grudge between us and the trust is going to be hard to earn back..." Stoker talked eyeing the rat leader infront of him.

"That's got nothing to do with me or my men. We never were on Mace' side."

"Yeah, but we need proves, hombre..." Vinnie chuckled while sitting on a chair turned backwards.

"How can I prove something that never even happened?" Simson asked.

"Maybe...We go check those tunnels to see that they're matching with the maps and let's see from there, hm?" The dark brown furred Maico asked while looking around the room filled with fellow Fighters. She was to add something but was cut off.

"No! As far as I'm concerned you can use those tunnels to go directly to our territory and attack our families! If you go to search the tunnels, we'll go together." Simson suddenly stood up and a few Fighters near him grabbed their guns as a reflex.

"C'mon... We don't do that, we won't attack your people..." Throttle talked back, yawning, still a bit sleepy but he had had a few hours' sleep and he was feeling more well, like himself.

"Yeah? And how do I know that you can be trusted then?" Simson asked with a challenging tone.

" 'Cause we're not like you rats, we're not some two-faced cowards who attack innocent civilians!" Modo raised his voice, his eye flashing red and Simson took a step forward.

"Say that again..." The rat growled but Stoker came between them and gave Modo a look that said "calm down or get out".

Modo glanced at Stoker and then changed his look back to Simson, giving him a meaningful glare before nodding and taking a few steps back before crossing his arms and leaning against the wall again, swallowing his anger although his look was even more intense now while it was directed straight to Simson.

Stoker sighed deeply and leaned to the table, trying to think of a way to go from here.

"Okay, so we're in a point where either one of us is unable to trust the other one... So, any ideas how do we proceed from here, gentlemen...and ladies?" Stoker gave Maico a look who only shrugged her shoulders since she had already told her idea and now only kept toying with her gun.

There was a deep silence.

"What if... this situation is just needing a leap of faith?" A small voice suddenly pierced the thick silence and everyone turned their eyes on Mina, who suddenly got a bit startled from all the attention. The Fighters started to talk to each other, nodding in agreement or shaking their heads as a sign of disbelief. Throttle cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"I think she's having a point here... I mean, if either one of us is not trusting the other one and we both have something to lose then... As I see it, we'll just have to trust each other and get over it. We really don't have time to lose here for these stupid quarrels." Throttle gave the others a look.

"Yeah, let's just get over it and come up with an action-packed plan so awsome, so suave, so mindblowingly genius that it'll blow their socks off and have me naturally in the leading role!" Vinnie banged his fist against his palm, getting up excitedly. As far as he was concerned, things were getting boring. More hype, less snoozing. Man, he had to find Charley soon, all this waiting and planning ahead was making him anxious and his adrenaline levels to hit the roof and explode into the sky, she could just be the distraction he needed right now...

Stoker gave Simson a look who looked thoughtful.

"Fine by me. We've come this far already..."

"Okay...So, maybe we'll just sit down and make a plan together, rats and mice?" Throttle asked carefully while walking closer to the table. Simson nodded.

"The outcasts and the outlaws together...Sounds good." Simson gathered a smirk on his face.

"And I heard you guys have a General-problem... That she's kept as a prisoner in the Army base and you'd like to find a way to free her? Well, I'm happy to announce that one of the tunnels will go pretty close to the Army's base...We could drive quite close there without ever appearing in their radar." The dark brown rat tapped the map. Throttle and Stoker studied the area and then shared a look.

"It could work..." Throttle nodded thoughtfully.

"But we still need the reinforcements from the soldiers still loyal to Carbine..." Stoker concluded.

"So, how do we get in touch with the soldiers? How do we know who are the loyals?" Maico asked.

"I think I know one way..." Stoker stroked his chin thoughtfully and then turned to Modo.

"On a scale from 1 to 10, how persuasive can you be?"

x

x

next day:

Aprilia walked to the garage holding her head, she had a mild case of hangover happening after the evening with Harley and a bottle of Martian liquor. She saw Modo polishing Lil'Hoss, circled by dozens of other bikes and vehicles. She walked carefully more near and Lil' Hoss revved her engine and beeped as soon as she was in a hearing distance and it made Modo to turn his head towards her. A smile appeared on his face and he tapped his beloved bike to let her know that he had heard someone to come.

"That's okay, darlin', ya don't have to warn me about my fiancée..." Modo murmured smiling. Aprilia gave a little chuckle.

"Maybe she feels her position a bit threatened..."

"Nah... She knows there's plenty of room for more than one lady in my life..." Modo talked while getting up wiping his hands on a rag. Aprilia gave a laugh.

"Okay, so how many fiancées do you have at the moment? Should I feel threatened instead...?"

Modo chuckled and placed his hands on her sides and pulled her gently closer to him. She felt his strong fingers caressing her sides.

"There's never been anyone but you, darlin'..." He rumbled.

"Oh, ya know that's a load of bull, ya had girlfriends before me..."

"Yeah, but Ah never even took them to meet my mommah..."

"Oh, so this is pretty serious then... I've met her many times..." Aprilia cooed, her eyes blinking.

"And she's crazy about you..." Modo stroked her chin with his thumb.

"Just out of curiosity, would you still date me if your mommah would hate me?" The fair-haired female asked.

Modo made a little frown and thought a few seconds, still stroking her chin. His face then cleared up as his mouth curled up slightly.

"Well, glad we don't have to find that out, hu...?" He then raised his eyebrow at her and she snorted and playfully nudged him on his side. Modo only gave a sly smile and turned to pick up his helmet from Lil'Hoss' seat and then gave Aprilia a helmet as well.

"Are we going somewhere...?" She asked curiously.

"Ah was thinkin' for takin' ya out on a date..."

"Ya don't have to woo me anymore, I already said "yes", ya know...?" Aprilia smiled as she put on her helmet.

"Hey, darlin', this is only the beginnin', ya haven't even seen how Ah can woo..." Modo flirted at her as he sat on his bike. Aprilia smiled at him and sat behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, instantly getting flashbacks from all the times when she had been sitting right here, behind him on his bike while they had been taking long rides across the desert. It had been a long time ago.

"Is it safe to go outside?" Aprilia asked.

"Yeah, Stoker asked me to do this one thing the same time we're out so they're gonna keep their eyes on us, too. Lil' Hoss will also tell if there's somethin' in her radar...Are ya scared to go outside?" Modo turned to give her a bit worried look, ready to cancel the whole thing if he would see even a glimpse of fear in her eyes.

"Gods no! I've been dying to get some fresh air..." Aprilia smiled back and then pressed the button to close her visor.

"Not maybe the phrase Ah would use in these circumstances but okay..." Modo chuckled lightly but closed his visor, too. He then revved the bike a few times and Aprilia felt Lil'Hoss thunder and tremour under them. The rumbling sound was loud and Lil'Hoss beeped excitedly a few times, ready to hit the red Martian sands again. Modo manouvered the bike in slow-speed, his biker boots still touching the stone floor as Lil' Hoss slowly slid forward and the grey furred male now dressed in the Fighter's camo-pants and a dark hoodie nodded at one Fighter standing close to the doors' control panels to open the doors.

As the doors had slid open just enough for them to fit through Modo gave the bike gas and Aprilia's shriek died in her throat as the powerful machine suddenly sped off. Once they were outside on the Martian sand desert, the early evening already had let the two Moons Phobos and Deimos to circle far-far away out in the dark sky filled with stars.

Modo gunned the bike even more and Lil'Hoss roared while they could feel the tremour go through their bodies. Aprilia squeezed Modo's middle tighter but felt his tail around her waist to squeeze her gently back, as a reminder that she was safe. It made Aprilia to relax more and after a few minutes she was completely calmed down. The evening was quite warm and Aprilia closed her eyes behind the visor for a brief moment and just enjoyed the sensation, the air, the wind, the musky scent of him mixed with the fresh smell of the desert filling her nose as she rest her head against his back, her fingers registering even the slightests manouvers he was making while driving. After all, the Fighters had pretty much grown up with the bikes, this was where they felt their most natural, where they could just follow their instincts, without thinking too much. Aprilia could feel how relaxed his body was and she marvelled how easily he could drive the bike, it was graceful.

After about half an hour Aprilia started to notice some lights ahead of them although still pretty far. She looked around curiously and then talked through the helmet's radio.

"Where are you takin' me?"

"To eat..." Modo answered rather enigmatically.

"To eat...? But you're a wanted man, you can't show your face anywhere...? You know, babe, Ah think you're a good-looking man but I think it's fair to say that your looks do draw attention..."

"Don't worry, darlin', we'll be safe..." Modo murmured, his mouth curling into a smile.

x

x

Simson walked with another rat the stairs down the same time as Harley was walking them up. As they met in halfway, Harley squeezed herself quickly past them. He was wearing sunglasses since her head ached and everything seemed too bright today after last night's drinking. Man, Martian liquor always felt like the right answer except on the next day...

"Hey, you...!" Simson started but Harley had already hurried her way to the dining area. She needed something to drink and some asperin and certainly not some chit-chat with the rats...Needless to say, after spending three years as their prisoner, she was not a fan of the rats. As she was opening the water tank in the corner of the dining area (to where the condensed water vapor from outside streamed) to fill her mug with fresh water with her hands shaking a little she heard steps behind her.

"Hey... I want to talk to you..." She turned around quickly to see Simson standing there a couple of steps away from her and she startled violently and with that half of her mug's content splashed to her front. She stared at the rat behind her black sunglasses.

"Well, maybe I don't want to talk with you!" Harley snapped back but her voice was a bit shaky. Simson didn't seem too taken by her behaviour and he only took a step back, showing that she could have more space but then nodded towards the sunglasses.

"What's up with the spex? We're underground...Anyway, I was thinking that..."

"Mind your own damn business..." Harley muttered as she walked quickly past him and in the process shoved the rat male aside. Simson sighed and shook his head looking after where she had went.

"These are a real nice bunch we've got here..."

x

x

Aprilia looked at the neighbourhood where they were currently driving, there were many rock formations and a few bigger rocks along the dirt road with neatly kept gardens where were growing a few different types of desert flowers but not too many since the drought was still hanging around like a plague. Aprilia recognized immidiately where they were.

"You're taking me to eat at your mommah's place?"

"Well, ya know her cookings beat the ordinary take-out anytime..."

"Right..." Aprilia's lips curled into a tiny smile. This shouldn't have comen as a surprise. Modo then turned off the headlight and slowed down the speed and once they were near his mommah's house, he turned to drive the bike to the back of the house, to keep the bike hidden.

"She knows we're coming?" The light brown female asked while taking the helmet off once they stopped. She took the offered hand as Modo helped her off the bike.

"Yeah, Ah called her earlier today..." Modo talked as he was looking around them a little alerted.

"You think they're keeping an eye on your mommah's house just in case you happen to drop by?" Aprilia asked, trying to straighten her blonde hair that had gotten a bit fluffy after having static electricity go through them while wearing the helmet. Modo gave her a look and his mouth curled up while seeing her messy looking hair.

"Ya know, honey, your hair looks like we've been doin' somethin' else for the past two hours than just drivin' here..."

"Funny..."

"Maybe ya can wear the helmet through the dinner...?" Modo raised his eyebrow with a smirk.

"Maybe you can answer my question...?" Aprilia gave a laugh but Modo showed her to keep her voice down as he glanced around them again.

"Well, ya never know with the rotten government what they're doin' but Ah doubt they'll just have that amount of manpower to just let them stare some houses all day... Anyway, Rimfire scanned the area before we came here, there shouldn't be anythin' to worry...Shall we, ma'am?" Modo offered Aprilia his arm and she smiled back and took it as they walked to the backdoor and knocked on the door.

"So, do we keep our engagement also a secret from your mother, or...?" Aprilia asked like she did not know the answer already to that.

"If we did, we should be prepared for massive consequences..." Modo rumbled, half-joking.

The door was opened and mommah without a word took Aprilia into a tight hug.

"There they are! Oh, come here Aprilia, my dear! It's been too long since we last met!"

"Y-yes... Nice to see you too, ma'am..." Aprilia smiled hugging back the small grey woman who had her grey hair tied into a bun.

"Oh, none of that now, just call me Arlen...! We're family after all..! So, come in, come in...! Don't just stand there out in the cold! You too, Modo, it's been a long ride for you...! Come give your mother a hug...!" Mommah then grabbed Modo into a tight hug as well, her glasses becoming steamy.

"Now, the food is soon ready so please come to sit in the dinin' room...! Oh and May should be here any minute now and she'll bring Radius with her...! Just like you asked, Modo... Ah would like to ask for you to talk your business matters when we've eaten, if that's okay...And Ah will not have any arguing and bickering under my roof...! Is that clear...?"

"Yes, ma'am..." Modo nodded as he offered Aprilia a chair to sit down by the dining table.

"Oh, where are my manners! Ah didn't even ask you how you were doing! So, Aprilia-dear? All been well?" Mommah asked.

"Yes... Everything's good..." Aprilia nodded while giving Modo a smile who sat down beside her.

Mommah looked at them both, beaming with joy.

"Oh, aren't you just the sweetest couple...!"

Modo cleared his throat.

"Yeah, well, about that..."

Suddenly the timer went on in the kitchen and mommah jumped up and rushed to take care of the food matter.

"Ah'm sorry, the casserole needs my immidiate attention...!"

Modo sighed and gave Aprilia a look who looked like bursting into a laughter.

"What?" He asked confused.

"I just love your mother... She's something else..."

"She sure is..." Modo smiled, too, scratching his neck.

x

x

"Okay, grab your helmet and let's go...! We'll go check the tunnels!" Stoker hit Vinnie on his back while he was hanging out with Charley and he nearly fell down but remained on his feet and once registering what the Commander had told him he rushed after him.

"Aaaawhooooo! Action! Finally! It was gettin' quite aggressively apathetic atmosphere in here... How about some melodies on the road? _Boooorn to beee wiiild...!"_

"Vincent." Stoker talked.

"Yes?"

"Drop the tunes. Or I'll drop you."

"Fine... Man, some people are just so hard to please..."

Vinnie then turned around to walk backwards while waving at Charley.

"It's time for the greatest mammajamma in this Galaxy to aim and _fiiireee_! Roll the red carpet for this hero to take off! See ya later, doll! Don't stay up and wait 'cause we're gonna rock all night long!"

Charley rolled her eyes but then shook her head amused.

"I really need to raise my standards on men..."

x

x

The doorbell rang.

"Ah'll go...!" Modo hollored while mommah was still in the kitchen.

Modo headed to the hall and opened the front door, letting it open but stayed more back, to prevent maybe any curious eyes to spot him standing there in the doorway. His sister May stood there along with Radius. The Lieutenant's eyes became bigger as he stared at Modo.

"W-what are you doing in here...?" He quickly started to look around him, to check that there weren't anybody anywhere to see them. That wasn't suspicious looking at all.

"Does a man need a reason to visit his mommah?" Modo raised him an eyebrow, smiling before his sister jumped to hug him.

"Guess not..." Radius mumbled, finally coming in and closing the door after him but turned to his wife.

"You knew about this?"

"Oh, come on, you wouldn't have comen if you had known...!" May waved her hand heading towards the dining room.

"That's right...! In my position I cannot be linked to...him." Radius nodded towards Modo.

"Hey, whatever happened to the "family first"...?" Modo half-joked, knowing exactly why Radius acted the way he did. The white furred male, who had to look a little up while talking to his brother-in-law gave him a glare.

"This is not a good idea for me to be in here...I mean, I'll get fired or thrown in jail if anyone catches me talking to an enemy..."

"Enemy? Ah'm your in-law."

"No, you're a Freedom Fighter, who actually just got his face in the paper that said loud and clear "WANTED"." Radius talked while pacing to and fro in the hallway, trying to decide should he just leave now or...

"Ok, calm down, man. Ah've not comen here as a Fighter tonight, aight? Ah've comen here as just me, to ask your help." Modo then said, trying to keep his voice down so the ones already sitting by the dining room table wouldn't hear their conversation.

"Help? You want my help?" Radius asked but shook his head.

"Nah...This is... I can't..."

"C'mon, man, just hear me out... 'Cause Ah know you didn't raise the ranks without the brains so Ah think you know exactly what's up..." Modo talked calmly. Radius was silent but then raised his look.

"This...is dangerous to talk about. You've got no idea what these people can do..." Radius started but was cut off.

"Nah, Ah think Ah do have a pretty good idea..." Modo said as he flexed his bionic arm that was still covered under the sleeve of his hoodie but they could still hear it. Radius gave him a look but then shook his head and placed his hands on his sides and looked down.

"Now, since we're talking like a man to man here...You should've never let Rimfire to join the Fighters." Radius then said, changin the topic, bying him more time to digest what his brother-in-law had just asked from him. Modo looked at the man but then nodded.

"Ah know. Believe me when Ah say that if Ah could somehow just keep him away from there Ah would... "

"How about been strict with him once?" Radius asked, his eyes piercing Modo.

"Ya think Ah have not tried that already?"

"Well, the kid's still there so I guess you haven't tried hard enough."

Modo pondered a few seconds. He then nodded.

"If Ah get Rimfire out of this all, you'll help us?"

Radius was silent and his look thoughtful. He then turned his look on Modo.

"You're right. I do know what is going on. I'm a Lieutenant, I hear things, I see things all the time. You're right about that. But you guys are wrong if you think that I could help you with anything. This whole thing is just...too big to even comprehend. Gods know how many people we're talking about here that are involved in this."

"But how can you just not do anything about it if you know what is going on? How can you not want to fight back? We know that Carbine's havin' a lotta loyal soldiers so with their help, we could have a shot to fight back..."

Radius was silently staring at the floor.

"It'll only fail..." He started.

"If it fails then we atleast know we tried to do somethin'." Modo concluded.

There was a deep silence again. Finally Radius sighed and shook his head, still not looking too sure but then he turned to Modo and held his hand infront of him.

"You get Rimfire out of there and you'll get my support. I will find the ones who are loyal to Carbine."

Modo shook Radius' hand.

"Thanks, man."

"Come on you two!" Mommah's voice suddenly hollored from the dining room.

"The food's gettin' cold...!"

Modo nodded at Radius.

"C'mon, let's go eat... Ya do not wanna start an argument with her..."

They stepped into the dining room and Modo then placed his hand on Aprilia's shoulder and gave Radius a look.

"Ah don't believe you've met my fiancée?"

Mommah dropped the pot full of steamy hot sandpotatoes on the floor and her eyes grew big.

"You two are gettin' married?!" She then raised her voice but then rushed to grab Modo and Aprilia into a hug, while tears started to pour down her cheeks.

"Oh, come here, you two! This is such wonderful news...! Ah thought this day will just never come...!"

x

x

The tunnels lasted forever even though they were driving fast, they just never ended. Stoker, Throttle, Vinnie and a bunch of other Fighters had come along with Simson and a few of his men to check out the tunnels. After they'd been driving around, under the desert for many hours, Simson as he was driving ahead of them along with Stoker, showed the others to slow down and stop. Everyone brought their bikes to a stop and Stoker opened up his visor.

"Why we stopped?" He asked but Simson showed him to stay quiet and listen. They all were silently listening but there wasn't anything.

"Oh, come on, there's nothing there, maybe your ears are ringin'..." Vinnie chuckled, desperately wanting to hit the road again...or tunnel... But Simson showed him to be quiet and he crossed his arms, frustratedly, giving Throttle a glance who was at the moment studying the maps.

"So, we should be close to Mace' rat army's base...?"

"We've never come this far with my crew...Not after we left the rat territory...I don't wanna say it's risky to be out here but let's just say that we should not underestimate Mace..." Simson talked.

"Yes, we did that mistake once already..." Throttle muttered.

Suddenly they started to hear something.

"What is that?" Maico asked, trying to identify the muffled sound somewhere far-away. They were silently listening.

"Well, whatever it is... It is heading straight towards us..." Stoker concluded, already placing his hands on the handlebars of his bike, ready to take off if and when the situation needed it.

"But what is that sound...? I've never heard that before..." Maico asked still curious. Suddenly the voice quickly became as a rumble that was in no doubt heading towards them. Throttle had a weird flashback to the days when they were still on Earth. This voice had something to do with Earth... But where he had heard that sound before...? The voice became even more powerful...and then it hit him.

"Turn back, now! Everybody back to the base! It's water!"

x

x

_The End_

 _Thank you all who have been reading this story and I hope that you'll also enjoy the Sequeal to this!_

 _Until next time!_

 _Ride free citizens!_

 _-SpaceFlora_


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